Validate Performance and#

Optimize

Overview#

Validate procmond performance against targets and optimize if needed.
This ticket ensures procmond meets performance requirements: enumerate
1,000 processes in <100ms, support 10,000+ processes, use <100MB
memory, and maintain <5% CPU usage.

Scope#

In Scope:

• Benchmark process enumeration (1,000 processes target:
  <100ms)
• Load testing with 10,000+ processes
• Memory profiling (target: <100MB sustained)
• CPU monitoring (target: <5% sustained)
• Regression testing to prevent degradation
• Performance optimization if targets not met
• Performance documentation
  Out of Scope:
• Advanced performance features (kernel monitoring, eBPF)
• Performance tuning for specific workloads
• Distributed performance testing

Technical Details#

Performance Targets#

Benchmarking Strategy#

Criterion Benchmarks:

• Process enumeration on all platforms (Linux, macOS, Windows,
  FreeBSD)
• Event publishing throughput
• WAL write performance
• Configuration hot-reload latency
• RPC request/response latency
  Load Testing:
• Spawn 10,000+ synthetic processes
• Monitor procmond behavior under load
• Validate no degradation or crashes
• Measure memory and CPU usage
  Memory Profiling:
• Use heaptrack (Linux), Instruments (macOS), or similar tools
• Identify memory leaks or excessive allocations
• Validate <100MB sustained usage
• Profile WAL and event buffer memory usage
  CPU Monitoring:
• Monitor CPU usage during continuous operation
• Validate <5% sustained usage
• Identify CPU hotspots with profiler
• Optimize hot paths if needed

Optimization Strategies#

If Targets Not Met:

1. Process Enumeration Optimization:

   • Reduce syscall overhead
   • Batch process queries
   • Cache frequently accessed data
   • Use platform-specific optimizations

2. Memory Optimization:

   • Reduce event buffer size if excessive
   • Optimize WAL file rotation
   • Use more efficient data structures
   • Profile and eliminate memory leaks

3. CPU Optimization:

   • Reduce collection frequency if needed
   • Optimize hot paths (profiler-guided)
   • Use more efficient algorithms
   • Reduce logging overhead

4. Event Publishing Optimization:

   • Batch event publishing
   • Optimize serialization (bincode)
   • Reduce event size if possible
   • Optimize topic matching
     `graph TD
     subgraph "Benchmarking"
     B1[Process Enumeration]
     B2[Event Publishing]
     B3[WAL Performance]
     B4[RPC Latency]
     B1 --> B5[Criterion Results]
     B2 --> B5
     B3 --> B5
     B4 --> B5
     end

   subgraph "Load Testing"
   L1[Spawn 10k Processes]
   L2[Monitor Memory]
   L3[Monitor CPU]
   L4[Monitor Throughput]
   L1 --> L5[Load Test Results]
   L2 --> L5
   L3 --> L5
   L4 --> L5
   end

   subgraph "Profiling"
   P1[Memory Profiler]
   P2[CPU Profiler]
   P3[Identify Hotspots]
   P1 --> P3
   P2 --> P3
   P3 --> P4[Optimization Targets]
   end

   B5 --> O1{Targets Met?}
   L5 --> O1
   O1 -->|Yes| O2[Document Performance]
   O1 -->|No| P4
   P4 --> O3[Optimize]
   O3 --> B1`

Regression Testing#

Strategy:

• Establish performance baselines with criterion
• Run benchmarks on every pull request
• Fail CI if performance regresses >10%
• Document acceptable performance ranges
  Baseline Storage:
• Store criterion baselines in repository
• Update baselines when intentional changes made
• Track performance trends over time

Dependencies#

Requires:

• ticket:54226c8a-719a-479a-863b-9c91f43717a9/[Ticket 6] - Security
  hardening must be complete
• ticket:54226c8a-719a-479a-863b-9c91f43717a9/[Ticket 7] - FreeBSD
  support must be validated
  Blocks:
• None (final ticket in Epic)

Acceptance Criteria#

Process Enumeration#

Performance

• Enumerate 1,000 processes in
  <100ms (average) on Linux
• Enumerate 1,000 processes in
  <100ms (average) on macOS
• Enumerate 1,000 processes in
  <100ms (average) on Windows
• Enumerate 1,000 processes in
  <200ms (average) on FreeBSD (degraded acceptable)

Large-Scale Support#

• Support 10,000+ processes without
  crashes
• Support 10,000+ processes without
  memory leaks
• Support 10,000+ processes without
  performance degradation
• Load testing validates stability
  under high process count

Memory Usage#

• Memory usage <100MB during normal
  operation (1,000 processes)
• Memory usage <200MB during high
  load (10,000 processes)
• No memory leaks detected by
  profiler
• WAL and event buffer memory usage
  within limits

CPU Usage#

• CPU usage <5% during continuous
  monitoring (1,000 processes)
• CPU usage <10% during high load
  (10,000 processes)
• No CPU hotspots identified by
  profiler
• Collection interval adjustment
  reduces CPU usage under backpressure

Event Publishing Performance#

• Publish >1,000 events/sec to
  event bus
• WAL write performance >500
  writes/sec
• Backpressure activation <1s to
  adjust interval
• Event publishing throughput
  validated by benchmark

Regression Testing#

• Criterion baselines established for
  all benchmarks
• Benchmarks run on every pull
  request
• CI fails if performance regresses

  10%

• Performance trends tracked over
  time

Documentation#

• Performance targets
  documented
• Benchmarking methodology
  documented
• Optimization strategies
  documented
• Performance baselines
  documented
• Regression testing
  documented

References#

• Epic Brief:
  spec:54226c8a-719a-479a-863b-9c91f43717a9/0fc3298b-37df-4722-a761-66a5a0da16b3
• Tech Plan:
  spec:54226c8a-719a-479a-863b-9c91f43717a9/f70103e2-e7ef-494f-8638-5a7324565f28
  (Phase 6, Performance Validation)
• Performance Standards:
  file:.cursor/rules/rust/performance-optimization.mdc
• Existing Benchmarks:
  file/benches/process_collector_benchmarks.rs

Source note: Migrated from the public repo
(spec/procmond/tickets/Validate_Performance_and_Optimize.md)
on 2026-04-17. The repo copy has been removed.