This document outlines potential improvements and enhancements for the Smallocator service, organized by category. These improvements aim to increase reliability, security, performance, and maintainability while maintaining the service's core functionality as a minimalistic allocator for The Compact.
- Implement Prometheus integration for key metrics:
- Compact submission rate and latency
- Session creation and validation times
- GraphQL query performance
- Database operation latency
- Resource utilization (CPU, memory, disk)
- Error rates by type and endpoint
- Implement structured logging with:
- Correlation IDs across operations
- Context-rich log entries
- Log levels appropriate for different environments
- Sensitive data masking
- Add log aggregation service integration
- Implement OpenTelemetry integration for:
- End-to-end request tracking
- Performance bottleneck identification
- Service dependency mapping
- Cross-service correlation
- Enhance health check endpoint with:
- Detailed component status (database, GraphQL, signing service)
- Resource utilization metrics
- Connection pool status
- Cache hit rates
- Recent error rates
- Implement retry mechanisms with:
- Exponential backoff for GraphQL queries
- Configurable retry limits
- Circuit breakers for external service calls
- Fallback strategies for degraded services
- Enhance database operations with:
- Automatic recovery mechanisms
- Transaction rollback handling
- Connection pool management
- Dead connection detection
- Query timeout handling
- Implement comprehensive error handling:
- Error aggregation service integration
- Detailed error context capture
- Error categorization and prioritization
- Automated error notification system
- Error trend analysis
- Implement service degradation strategies:
- Fallback functionality for non-critical features
- Clear user communication during degraded states
- Automatic recovery procedures
- Service priority levels
- Implement strict CORS policy:
- Configurable allowed origins
- Secure header policies
- Options pre-flight handling
- Credential handling configuration
- Add comprehensive rate limiting:
- Per-IP address limits
- Per-sponsor address limits
- Sliding window implementation
- Rate limit response headers
- Configurable limit tiers
- Enhance authentication system:
- API key authentication for admin endpoints
- Session token rotation
- JWT implementation
- Role-based access control
- Multi-factor authentication support
- Implement security-focused logging:
- Audit logs for sensitive operations
- Key usage tracking
- Admin action logging
- Security event alerting
- Compliance reporting support
- Enhance request validation:
- Strict input sanitization
- Request signing verification
- Schema validation
- Content type verification
- Size limits enforcement
- Implement multi-layer caching:
- Redis integration for frequent data
- In-memory caching for hot paths
- Cache invalidation strategies
- Cache warming mechanisms
- Cache hit rate monitoring
- Enhance database performance:
- Use Postgres in place of PGLite
- Connection pooling
- Prepared statements
- Query optimization
- Index management
- Efficient data pruning
- Optimize request handling:
- Request queuing
- Backpressure handling
- Batch processing support
- Response streaming
- Connection keep-alive
- Implement resource optimization:
- Memory usage monitoring
- CPU utilization tracking
- Disk space management
- Network bandwidth optimization
- Resource allocation strategies
- Implement comprehensive documentation:
- OpenAPI/Swagger integration
- Interactive API documentation
- Code examples
- Error response documentation
- Authentication guides
- Enhance testing capabilities:
- Frontend tests (no tests here yet)
- Enhanced unit test framework
- Enhanced integration tests
- End-to-end tests
- Performance tests
- Security tests
- Test coverage reporting
- Implement database tooling:
- Automated migrations
- Schema version control
- Data seeding
- Test data management
- Database backup/restore
- Add administrative capabilities:
- System management endpoints
- Configuration management
- User management
- Resource allocation control
- System statistics dashboard
- Implement data lifecycle management:
- Automated cleanup of expired data
- Data archival procedures
- Backup scheduling
- Data retention policies
- Recovery procedures
- Enhance deployment process:
- Automated deployment scripts
- Rolling updates support
- Deployment verification
- Rollback procedures
- Environment configuration management
- Implement system monitoring:
- Resource utilization alerts
- Error rate monitoring
- Performance degradation detection
- SLA compliance tracking
- Uptime monitoring
The following implementation order is recommended based on impact and dependency relationships:
-
High Priority (0-3 months)
- Basic monitoring and metrics collection
- Essential security enhancements (e.g. rate limiting)
- Critical error handling improvements
- Comprehensive API documentation
-
Medium Priority (3-6 months)
- Enhanced logging and tracing
- Caching implementation
- Database optimizations
-
Lower Priority (6+ months)
- Advanced administrative features
- Comprehensive testing infrastructure
- Advanced performance optimizations
- Extended monitoring capabilities
These improvements will significantly enhance the Smallocator service while maintaining its core mission as a minimalistic allocator for The Compact. Implementation should be prioritized based on immediate needs and resource availability, with a focus on maintaining system stability throughout the enhancement process.
Regular review and updates to this improvement plan are recommended as new requirements emerge and technology evolves.