{"id":26628,"date":"2024-08-16T10:33:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-16T05:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogrevamp.cashfree.com\/?p=26628"},"modified":"2024-08-16T11:48:18","modified_gmt":"2024-08-16T06:18:18","slug":"payment-processing-optimisation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogrevamp.cashfree.com\/payment-processing-optimisation\/","title":{"rendered":"Optimising Payment Processing for Major Events: Effective High-Scale Traffic Handling"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_81 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a9444539a9cb\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #364250;color:#364250\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #364250;color:#364250\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a9444539a9cb\"  aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/blogrevamp.cashfree.com\/payment-processing-optimisation\/#Introduction\" >Introduction<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/blogrevamp.cashfree.com\/payment-processing-optimisation\/#Identifying_Traffic_Types\" >Identifying Traffic Types<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/blogrevamp.cashfree.com\/payment-processing-optimisation\/#Unpredictable_Traffic_Spikes\" >Unpredictable Traffic Spikes<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/blogrevamp.cashfree.com\/payment-processing-optimisation\/#Predictable_Traffic_Spikes\" >Predictable Traffic Spikes<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/blogrevamp.cashfree.com\/payment-processing-optimisation\/#Monitoring_High-Scale_Traffic\" >Monitoring High-Scale Traffic<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/blogrevamp.cashfree.com\/payment-processing-optimisation\/#Setting_Up_a_Robust_Monitoring_System_for_High-Scale_Traffic\" >Setting Up a Robust Monitoring System for High-Scale Traffic<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-4' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/blogrevamp.cashfree.com\/payment-processing-optimisation\/#Step_1_Gathering_Requirements_and_Profiling_Merchants\" >Step 1: Gathering Requirements and Profiling Merchants<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/blogrevamp.cashfree.com\/payment-processing-optimisation\/#Step_2_Listing_Services_and_APIs_to_Monitor\" >Step 2: Listing Services and APIs to Monitor<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/blogrevamp.cashfree.com\/payment-processing-optimisation\/#Step_3_Selecting_Metrics_to_Monitor\" >Step 3: Selecting Metrics to Monitor<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/blogrevamp.cashfree.com\/payment-processing-optimisation\/#Step_4_Creating_a_Centralised_Monitoring_Dashboard\" >Step 4: Creating a Centralised Monitoring Dashboard<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/blogrevamp.cashfree.com\/payment-processing-optimisation\/#Comprehensive_Preparation_Strategy\" >Comprehensive Preparation Strategy<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/blogrevamp.cashfree.com\/payment-processing-optimisation\/#Scaling_Strategy\" >Scaling Strategy<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-4' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/blogrevamp.cashfree.com\/payment-processing-optimisation\/#Implementing_Auto-Scaling_to_Handle_Traffic_Surges\" >Implementing Auto-Scaling to Handle Traffic Surges<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-14\" href=\"https:\/\/blogrevamp.cashfree.com\/payment-processing-optimisation\/#Developing_a_Pre-Scaling_Tool\" >Developing a Pre-Scaling Tool<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-15\" href=\"https:\/\/blogrevamp.cashfree.com\/payment-processing-optimisation\/#Implementing_Chaos_Mesh_Testing\" >Implementing Chaos Mesh Testing<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-16\" href=\"https:\/\/blogrevamp.cashfree.com\/payment-processing-optimisation\/#Configuring_Alerts_for_Early_Detection\" >Configuring Alerts for Early Detection<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-17\" href=\"https:\/\/blogrevamp.cashfree.com\/payment-processing-optimisation\/#Building_and_Managing_a_High-Performance_Monitoring_Team\" >Building and Managing a High-Performance Monitoring Team<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-18\" href=\"https:\/\/blogrevamp.cashfree.com\/payment-processing-optimisation\/#Graceful_Degradation_and_Continuous_Improvement\" >Graceful Degradation and Continuous Improvement<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-4' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-19\" href=\"https:\/\/blogrevamp.cashfree.com\/payment-processing-optimisation\/#Graceful_Degradation\" >Graceful Degradation<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-20\" href=\"https:\/\/blogrevamp.cashfree.com\/payment-processing-optimisation\/#Regular_Meetings_and_Drills\" >Regular Meetings and Drills<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-21\" href=\"https:\/\/blogrevamp.cashfree.com\/payment-processing-optimisation\/#During_High-Traffic_Events\" >During High-Traffic Events<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-22\" href=\"https:\/\/blogrevamp.cashfree.com\/payment-processing-optimisation\/#Enforcing_a_Deployment_Freeze_During_Peak_Hours\" >Enforcing a Deployment Freeze During Peak Hours<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-23\" href=\"https:\/\/blogrevamp.cashfree.com\/payment-processing-optimisation\/#Coordinating_Through_a_High_Traffic_Day_War_Room\" >Coordinating Through a High Traffic Day War Room<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-24\" href=\"https:\/\/blogrevamp.cashfree.com\/payment-processing-optimisation\/#Real-Time_Alerts_and_Merchant_Escalation_Matrix\" >Real-Time Alerts and Merchant Escalation Matrix<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-25\" href=\"https:\/\/blogrevamp.cashfree.com\/payment-processing-optimisation\/#Conducting_a_Post-Event_Review_for_Continuous_Improvement\" >Conducting a Post-Event Review for Continuous Improvement<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-26\" href=\"https:\/\/blogrevamp.cashfree.com\/payment-processing-optimisation\/#Cultivating_Team_Engagement_and_Positivity\" >Cultivating Team Engagement and Positivity<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Introduction\"><\/span><strong>Introduction<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Handling millions of transactions per minute during major events like e-commerce flash sales, tatkal ticket booking, or the IPL (Indian Premier League) is an exhilarating challenge for any payment processing system. These events often lead to a surge in online activity translating into massive payment transactions, which must be processed quickly and seamlessly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Imagine the stakes: if the system falters, not only could it lead to lost revenue, but it could also damage the reputation of the merchants and the payment processor.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So at Cashfree Payments, our&nbsp; goal is to ensure that every transaction is processed promptly and securely without compromising on&nbsp; downtime or performance degradation. By implementing advanced scaling and monitoring strategies, we help our users manage these spikes effectively, ensuring their applications can handle the load without issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Identifying_Traffic_Types\"><\/span><strong>Identifying Traffic Types<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Unpredictable_Traffic_Spikes\"><\/span><strong>Unpredictable Traffic Spikes<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Unpredictable traffic surges can occur suddenly and without warning. We employ proactive capacity planning to manage these, leveraging historical data to estimate potential maximum loads. Our system is designed to handle up to<strong> five times <\/strong>increase in traffic, with Horizontal Pod Autoscaling (HPA) and rate limiters ensuring real-time scalability and traffic management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Predictable_Traffic_Spikes\"><\/span><strong>Predictable Traffic Spikes<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Predictable traffic surges can be anticipated based on historical data or scheduled events, such as sales events or sports matches. The traffic generally peaks shortly before and during these events. To manage this, we schedule resource scaling to match these predictable patterns, ensuring our system is ready to handle the increased load.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, even predictable spikes challenge autoscaling mechanisms, which can take time to bring new nodes online and several minutes to scale services. This delay can cause performance issues if the spike occurs faster than the system can scale. Therefore, proactive scaling and pre-warming resources before the expected spike are critical strategies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com\/docsz\/AD_4nXen9C0jkYFINdnCFMoPeAVDaZtThJiI4GcVxi2seveRlNHRRqvjZmX6ow3SVcVeiJ2_OCNaZUoUI8YG1Igq2CTxKJ9QBEHv55vKgd66lw6V-u9m5JWP_DMV47sajdFGG0N64BiEgMA2ZSGvldvb6P1faISA?key=m8Edpiw89aSEIYfiDrfADw\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">Fig1: Burst traffic<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Monitoring_High-Scale_Traffic\"><\/span><strong>Monitoring High-Scale Traffic<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Monitoring high-scale traffic is crucial for keeping up with&nbsp; the performance, security, and reliability of applications and websites. Effective monitoring also helps in the early detection of issues and in maintaining optimal performance. Here are the steps we follow to set up a robust monitoring system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Setting_Up_a_Robust_Monitoring_System_for_High-Scale_Traffic\"><\/span><strong>Setting Up a Robust Monitoring System for High-Scale Traffic<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Step_1_Gathering_Requirements_and_Profiling_Merchants\"><\/span><strong>Step 1: Gathering Requirements and Profiling Merchants<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We start by listing the expected traffic from each merchant during the event and use monitoring tools with advanced traces to determine how each external request, such as a payment API call, which can convert to multiple internal API requests. These internal requests may include checking merchant configuration, assessing risk, fetching essential data, and pushing information to a queue for asynchronous processing, among others. This process translates into Queries Per Second (QPS) to internal services, allowing us to profile merchants by identifying the APIs they use and estimating the traffic for each API.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Step_2_Listing_Services_and_APIs_to_Monitor\"><\/span><strong>Step 2: Listing Services and APIs to Monitor<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Given our microservice architecture, we compile a comprehensive list of services and their corresponding APIs that require monitoring. This includes identifying critical services such as payment processing, risk assessment, and configuration management, as well as their respective APIs.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By mapping out these services and APIs, we take care that all our crucial components are covered, allowing us to track performance, error rates, resource utilisation, and other key metrics for each service. This helps in targeted monitoring and helps in promptly identifying and addressing any issues that arise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Step_3_Selecting_Metrics_to_Monitor\"><\/span><strong>Step 3: Selecting Metrics to Monitor<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We compile a cumulative list of metrics to be monitored, which includes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Traffic Volume\/Spike<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Performance Metrics<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Error Rates<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Resource Utilisation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Network Metrics<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Product\/User Experience Metrics<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Comparison of requests from origin to service and database requests<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Connection Metrics<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Cache Performance<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Queue Lengths and Processing Times<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Step_4_Creating_a_Centralised_Monitoring_Dashboard\"><\/span><strong>Step 4: Creating a Centralised Monitoring Dashboard<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To effectively monitor system performance and resource utilisation, we employ various monitoring tools:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Datadog<\/strong> with OpenTelemetry for APM and tracing<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Grafana<\/strong> powered by VictoriaMetrics for APM custom metrics like product metrics<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>AWS Monitoring<\/strong> for detailed graphs of AWS resources like RDS, Redis, SQS<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although 80% of the major metrics required for monitoring are available on Datadog, we still need other tools. We created a centralized dashboard on Datadog and integrated it with Grafana and AWS using Datadog&#8217;s iframe and link features.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com\/docsz\/AD_4nXecDxdXiTc02Gt7KHibz6sK30VR_1wV9q4eFRqmtuC26Tj1dAJStCwXuiuz_GtDZLHHLfslK19mfXlgqbgaOx0xJ-FsnLzCHj9i7q6SN_0JxIQc5hwubPyMiyYcl03tVe9B8MkkU3qJPvoSCRFle-d5L3X8?key=m8Edpiw89aSEIYfiDrfADw\" alt=\"Fig 2: Monitoring System Setup\n\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">Fig 2: Centralised Monitoring Dashboard<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Comprehensive_Preparation_Strategy\"><\/span><strong>Comprehensive Preparation Strategy<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Scaling_Strategy\"><\/span><strong>Scaling Strategy<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Implementing_Auto-Scaling_to_Handle_Traffic_Surges\"><\/span><strong>Implementing Auto-Scaling to Handle Traffic Surges<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We used Horizontal Pod Autoscaling (HPA) and scheduled auto-scaling of resources to ensure our system can handle varying traffic conditions. Here is a sample configuration of our auto-scaler using KEDA (Kubernetes Event-Driven Autoscaling):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com\/docsz\/AD_4nXdPdqlQ2-ZQUdHQf0pfpdI4BPHEaYMpfnwo1L3fk51eY70UdkeLwQyN2ZJdE2-vkaxgobdGbwRhHEpjfddO5zaQgTANpY8C3SsxQCeUgQhGz6IEk1g8d3r6TnepBbR2qwNI7WwXhnXgrIE4nGETWMEmYdEO?key=m8Edpiw89aSEIYfiDrfADw\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This configuration shows how we use multiple triggers to auto-scale our resources based on CPU, memory utilisation, and custom Prometheus metrics, as well as scheduled cron jobs to handle predictable traffic spikes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Developing_a_Pre-Scaling_Tool\"><\/span><strong>Developing a Pre-Scaling Tool<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We created an in-house tool designed for precise capacity planning for each service. This tool enables us to input the expected transactions per second (TPS) for specific features during peak times. Using data from Datadog APM, we can accurately calculate the average TPS and convert these into queries per second (QPS) for both primary and downstream services. The tool then calculates the number of pods needed to handle the anticipated traffic, ensuring optimal performance and availability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For instance, if we anticipate that a feature will handle 500 TPS during a peak event, and our capacity planning shows that one transaction translates to 8 queries (500 TPS converts to 4000 QPS), and a pod can handle 1000 QPS, the tool determines that at least 4 pods are required to manage this load efficiently. This proactive scaling lets us maintain optimal performance and availability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Additionally, the tool automatically adjusts the KEDA configuration to fine-tune the auto-scaling parameters based on these traffic projections, allowing us to dynamically allocate resources as needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Implementing_Chaos_Mesh_Testing\"><\/span><strong>Implementing Chaos Mesh Testing<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To test the robustness and preparedness of our services, we use Chaos Mesh to introduce faults and disruptions, such as network latency and service failures, while also employing tools to generate unplanned traffic spikes. This approach helps us identify the breaking points of each service under production traffic patterns, ensuring our systems can effectively handle real-world scenarios.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Configuring_Alerts_for_Early_Detection\"><\/span><strong>Configuring Alerts for Early Detection<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We established basic rules to trigger alerts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Low severity alerts at 60% resource exhaustion<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>High severity alerts at 80% resource utilisation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Alerts for critical metrics to notify us of potential issues before they impact use<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here is an example of a monitoring alert configuration for high CPU usage using Datadog<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com\/docsz\/AD_4nXcGGzeJuxFlwD9vGf0rg33jnLCsu9Wziyx2CQIq4e7hyVU6uM_dUX5otb40coBds-6wt6UdY7LJGxL2_4dbpP86YRpPSq2PGi5-5ZOKy89ruCxuTAfMrGoOJHzkuBX8nke0Ej9MPxRovj3qU1nwHyenDcKo?key=m8Edpiw89aSEIYfiDrfADw\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">Fig 3: High CPU Usage Alert Configuration&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com\/docsz\/AD_4nXcQuG5dtqYwrg3P8zcOUv-4RD8TQwLyLrzZmUIQyaflbFxG6SdeLBYZUxd_WprPJQw9OGdDuFnCvQ3K28DGw_CBE7804a-wAJl4ue6WQ71G8Vs71nb0RURUjKJRRjTQqIRzTp7fOv9c0_2rX5QsHcRrd_r0?key=m8Edpiw89aSEIYfiDrfADw\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This alert monitors the CPU usage of the <em>samplesvc<\/em> service and triggers notifications when it exceeds the specified thresholds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Building_and_Managing_a_High-Performance_Monitoring_Team\"><\/span><strong>Building and Managing a High-Performance Monitoring Team<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We assembled a high-performance monitoring team comprising representatives from different products to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Validate metrics<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Monitor service behavior through the centralised dashboard<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Provide continuous feedback and improvements in service<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Including a member from each team whose services fall under P0 and P1 flows ensures that all teams are working towards a common goal. This setup also allows us to address any issues quickly and efficiently since the necessary expertise is readily available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Graceful_Degradation_and_Continuous_Improvement\"><\/span><strong>Graceful Degradation and Continuous Improvement<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Graceful_Degradation\"><\/span><strong>Graceful Degradation<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We prioritise critical business functions, such as transaction processing (P0), over less critical services, like analytical systems (P2), ensuring uninterrupted service during peak periods. Resilience measures like circuit breakers are implemented based on error rates, latency, and other metrics, maintaining service availability and user trust under stress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Regular_Meetings_and_Drills\"><\/span><strong>Regular Meetings and Drills<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Regular meetings with our high-scale monitoring team validate metrics and look after service performance through our centralised dashboard. While in-person meetings facilitate quick identification and resolution of issues, production drills simulate traffic scenarios, allowing proactive adjustments to upscale or downscale activities, and improvinging system resilience and readiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com\/docsz\/AD_4nXd2qdtEeC7UYhCoxjdB02Wn5xzBjs9cKZ3Kop5Ss6GtM1myx7VwueGWcW10I3NI6vC46IjFUuvF7eJfvwnEALqU3QeJvaTfRIQD1Px5kzfQORZZSXhfOZVcR2gLgFMD3D05ajMJ-Q_kDt39PyHBpWH0ojBq?key=m8Edpiw89aSEIYfiDrfADw\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">Fig 4: Correlation Between Request Volume and Resource Utilisation<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"During_High-Traffic_Events\"><\/span><strong>During High-Traffic Events<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Enforcing_a_Deployment_Freeze_During_Peak_Hours\"><\/span><strong>Enforcing a Deployment Freeze During Peak Hours<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We freeze deployments during peak hours (not the entire day) to avoid disruptions. While we safeguard our deployments under feature flags and rollout percentages, we still impose a deployment embargo during peak hours to ensure maximum stability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Coordinating_Through_a_High_Traffic_Day_War_Room\"><\/span><strong>Coordinating Through a High Traffic Day War Room<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We have created a War Room for major events. In the War Room, our high-scale team and each service owner check the metrics and give the go-ahead for scaling both compute and database resources. The War Room link is shared with all stakeholders:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Any on-call personnel must join the link during the event if they receive an alert.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Anyone who wants to see our readiness can join and observe our preparations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Real-Time_Alerts_and_Merchant_Escalation_Matrix\"><\/span><strong>Real-Time Alerts and Merchant Escalation Matrix<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Using a robust escalation matrix, we promptly notify merchants of any issues through real-time alerts. This proactive communication ensures transparency and swift resolution of potential disruptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Conducting_a_Post-Event_Review_for_Continuous_Improvement\"><\/span><strong>Conducting a Post-Event Review for Continuous Improvement<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Following each event, we conduct a comprehensive post-event review to analyse outcomes, identify areas for improvement, and celebrate successes. Along the same lines, recognising achievements fosters team motivation and underscores our commitment to continuous enhancement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Cultivating_Team_Engagement_and_Positivity\"><\/span><strong>Cultivating Team Engagement and Positivity<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Monitoring high-scale traffic is inherently a meticulous and demanding task. However, at Cashfree Payments, the teams are always supportive of taking on new challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To keep everyone engaged and excited, we introduced a game that brought a sense of fun and competition to our daily routines. Team members would guess the traffic volume for specific events, placing friendly bets on their predictions. This lighthearted competition not only made the monitoring process more enjoyable but also encouraged active participation and attentiveness. The thrill of seeing whose guess was closest kept the team motivated and fostered a collaborative spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Each&nbsp; milestone, especially scaling the system beyond previous records, has fueled the enthusiasm of the team and kept us motivated to do more. We are driven by a continuous hunger for innovation, improvement, and breaking new grounds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Introduction Handling millions of transactions per minute during major events like e-commerce flash sales, tatkal ticket booking, or the IPL (Indian Premier League) is an exhilarating challenge for any payment processing system. These events often lead to a surge in online activity translating into massive payment transactions, which must be processed quickly and seamlessly. Imagine<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":115,"featured_media":26630,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1497],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26628","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-engineering"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ 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