mirror of
https://github.com/block/buzz.git
synced 2026-08-18 06:50:31 +02:00
## Summary
Expands read-replica usage on the relay per the Rev 2 design (thread
39d1e174 in #buzz-read-only-replica-usage): replaces the
Aurora-incompatible WAL-LSN read-side fence observation with a portable
**heartbeat token**, makes the freshness proof **snapshot-local to the
serving reader session**, and adds a default-off bounded-staleness gate
for head fetches.
### Probe (writer side, unchanged ordering)
The ordered writer scan is kept verbatim — `S = clock_timestamp()` →
masked-visibility `pg_stat_activity` oldest-xact scan — and now ends by
committing a heartbeat token **last** on the same pinned connection
(single-row `UPDATE replica_heartbeat ... RETURNING token, epoch`,
migration `0026`). The single-row update serializes all pods' probes, so
tokens are globally commit-ordered; the three-bucket completeness
argument carries over unchanged. Ring retains `(token, committed_at,
fence_wall)`; epoch change resets the ring; a same-epoch token
regression (restore adversary) clears the ring **and rotates the epoch
on the writer** so pre-rewind readers fail the epoch check. Cadence 1s.
### Routing (snapshot-local proof)
Every routed read opens `BEGIN ISOLATION LEVEL REPEATABLE READ, READ
ONLY` on a reader session and observes the heartbeat as the
transaction's **first statement** — the proof's snapshot is exactly the
snapshot the page, participants batch, and bridge aux closure read from
(`ReadSession` carries the open transaction; drop = rollback).
Fail-closed everywhere: begin failure, missing heartbeat row, epoch
mismatch, token below the ring, over-budget entry → writer.
- **Predicate B (cursor pages, default-on):** same completeness math as
the existing fence — cursor timestamp must be ≤ the proved wall; thread
candidate-terminal and above-wall pages re-run on the writer.
- **Predicate A (head fetches, default-OFF):** gated by
`BUZZ_REPLICA_HEAD_MAX_AGE_SECS` (0 = off, clamped to fence staleness).
Bounded-stale head semantics are an explicit product decision — **do not
enable anywhere without Tyler's backdated-event-semantics acceptance.**
### Observability
`buzz_db_route_decision{path, decision, reason}` across all five paths,
`buzz_db_replica_heartbeat_age_seconds` gauge, and per-decision debug
logs carrying the proved token plus backend identity: `addr:port pid=N`,
prefixed with `aurora_db_instance_identifier()` when the endpoint
supports it (probed once per process on an autocommit checkout; SQLSTATE
42883 caches a definitive false; identity is evidence, never a routing
gate).
## Review & verification
- **Wren:** full review 9/9/9 at `5f81b10e5`; identity delta re-review
approved at exact head `fedb46368` (90/90 unit, clippy `-D warnings`,
fmt independently reproduced).
- **Max:** local E2E **PASS** at `5f81b10e5` — isolated PG17 writer +
two streaming standbys behind HAProxy; paused-reader legs split exactly
as designed (6 replica/fresh + 6 writer/stale), recovery clean, RR
snapshot hardening observed in runtime logs. Evidence:
`WORK_LOGS/2026-07-28_REPLICA_HEARTBEAT_REPLACEMENT_SHA_E2E.md`.
- **My gates at head (same shell):** buzz-db 90 unit + 143
Postgres-gated green (scratch DBs); buzz-relay 767/768 — lone red is the
pre-existing `mesh_demo` flake, red on base; clippy `-D warnings` + fmt
clean.
- Key regression tests:
`routed_request_holds_one_snapshot_across_page_and_aux`
(mutation-verified both directions), same-epoch rotation,
capability-probe negative, head-gate truth table, divergent-fixture
routing suite.
## Post-merge plan
Merge publishes the immutable `sha-*` main image → bb-public PR pins it
→ ArgoCD sync → Max runs the production cursor-routing canary on Aurora
(positive identity branch proven live). Head gate stays off. Client
`since`-widening ships separately.
---
## Update — full read routing (Rev 6, commit `9fa3c9c0b`)
Extends routing to the remaining read seams per
`PLANS/REPLICA_FULL_READ_ROUTING_DESIGN.md` Rev 6 (thread cf5deba4 in
#buzz-read-only-replica-usage).
### New routed seams — ALL deploy-default dark
The new seams (`query_events_routed`, `query_events_routed_bounded`,
`count_events_routed`, `get_events_by_ids_routed`,
`query_feed_{mentions,needs_action,activity}_routed`) are
**Bounded-only** and gated on `BUZZ_REPLICA_READ_MAX_AGE_MS`: unset ⇒
every new seam records `writer/disabled` and merging is a no-op. COUNT
and feed/by-ids never take the covered arm (deletion visibility: covered
bounds insert-completeness only). **Note:** the pre-existing cursor
paths (channel windows, thread pages) are *not* gated by this env var —
they route at B=0 today and that status quo is unchanged.
### Reader pool (D4/D5)
- Lazy pool (`connect_lazy`, `min_connections(0)`): reader-down at boot
can't crash the relay; a warn-only boot ping is the only boot-time
visibility, and it primes the Aurora identity capability cache. Priming
is an optimization only — the routed path itself spends a single acquire
budget regardless (see the single-checkout fix below), because a boot
ping that *fails* is correlated with exactly the reader-unavailable case
the budget bound exists for.
- `READER_ACQUIRE_TIMEOUT` = 150ms; a miss fails closed to the writer
with reason **`reader_acquire_timeout`** — named for the mechanism, not
a diagnosis. The budget includes cold connects and sqlx's `size` counts
in-flight dials, so this metric alone does not distinguish contention
from slow connection establishment (see `proved_reader` doc-comment for
the runbook guidance; the pool gauges are 10s samples and are for
capacity planning).
- `BUZZ_DB_READ_POOL_SIZE` sizes the reader independently (invalid/0
inherits writer sizing); `read_pool_stats().max` reports the reader's
own ceiling.
### Community isolation (formal-model question)
Isolation is structural — an explicit `community_id = $n` predicate
compiled into every query builder; no RLS, no session-GUC tenant state
(zero `CREATE POLICY` across migrations). The `_on` variants reuse the
exact same builders with only the executor swapped. Proven by a
seven-seam two-community divergent-fixture test
(`routed_reads_are_confined_to_the_requested_community`),
mutation-tested by Dawn: all four single-predicate stubs killed; the
mention-join feeds are defended in depth (three independent predicates)
so only complete removal leaks there.
### Accepted limitation
D6: client-side staleness on bounded reads (up to `_MS`) is accepted
product behavior when the gate is enabled; gate stays off at merge.
## Update — single acquire budget per routed read (commit `dd26caa9f`)
Max found (and Dawn independently reproduced, 302–330ms measured) that
the boot-unavailable cold path spent **two** stacked
`READER_ACQUIRE_TIMEOUT` budgets: the Aurora capability probe did its
own `pool.acquire()` before `begin_with` acquired again. Fixed by
acquiring **once** per routed read — the capability probe runs on the
held connection (`reader_aurora_capability_on`) and the read-only
`REPEATABLE READ` transaction begins on that same connection
(`Transaction::begin` accepts a `PoolConnection` at `'static` via sqlx's
`MaybePoolConnection`). Reason codes unchanged; capability still never
negatively cached. Measured routed fallback: ~150ms (one budget).
Ships with a PG-gated regression fixture
(`routed_fallback_spends_one_acquire_budget_when_aurora_cache_is_cold`,
authored by Dawn): size-1 reader saturated, capability cache asserted
cold, routes through `count_events_routed`, asserts writer answer +
one-budget elapsed + `writer/reader_acquire_timeout` label
(mutation-tested: `pool_busy` and `reader_validation_error` mutants both
killed). It fails at 330ms on the previous commit and passes on this
one.
### Verification at `dd26caa9f` (pinned toolchain rustc 1.95.0 via repo
`bin/`; ambient rustc 1.89 fails sqlx resolution — always prepend
`bin/`)
- buzz-db: 94 unit + **150/151** PG-gated serial (`--test-threads=1`;
suite is not parallel-safe against one Postgres). The 1 red is
`test_usage_metrics_lock_has_single_owner_and_releases_on_drop` — a
**pre-existing** same-key-same-database advisory-lock collision with any
live relay pointed at the shared `buzz` DB (the relay re-arms
`USAGE_METRICS_LOCK_KEY` on a 300s tick). It passes on a private scratch
DB with the relay still running — verified this run. Remedy is a scratch
`TEST_DATABASE_URL`, **not** terminating lock holders: inspect
`pg_locks`/`pg_stat_activity` and resolve the owning process first; an
idle advisory holder may be a live dev relay. Pre-existing, not a #3268
blocker — filed as #3619.
- buzz-relay: 773/773; clippy `-D warnings` + fmt clean. (`mesh_demo`
echo test is a known pre-existing Redis-dependent flake — Dawn confirmed
it fails identically on the base commit, untouched by this PR.)
- Dawn: independent re-verification at `dd26caa9f` — byte-identical diff
application confirmed, suite reproduced, and fixture proven to still
discriminate (fails at 320ms with only the production fix reverted).
Gate clear. Max: independent rig pass at `dd26caa9f` — 94/94 unit,
**15/15 routing/fallback matrix** (cursor behavior, default-dark seams,
seven-seam confinement, one-snapshot, dead-reader/no-URL fallback,
hard-delete fail-closed, reader max), 773/773 relay, private-DB lock
control. Gate clear; recommends merge + staged bb-block rollout
(no-reader-URL no-op → cursor-only → observe `buzz_db_route_decision` →
conservative nonzero `BUZZ_REPLICA_READ_MAX_AGE_MS`; rollback is
config-only).
## Known gap — CI does not run the PG-backed fixtures (#3622)
Dawn found post-sign-off (confirmed by Max and Eva at `dd26caa9f`):
**every Postgres-backed fixture in this PR is `#[ignore]`d and no CI job
selects it.** `Unit Tests` runs `cargo nextest run -p buzz-db --lib`
(`Justfile:279-285`, ignored tests excluded); the only `--run-ignored
ignored-only` invocations (`ci.yml:690`, `:702`) filter to
`relay_invite::tests`. So the one-budget regression, the seven-seam
isolation fixture, and the fence/floor-guard/fallback tests have zero
automated execution — the verification record above is exhaustive but
manual, at this exact SHA.
Not introduced by this PR (the `#[ignore]` + narrow-filter pattern
predates it; 34 ignored tests total) and not a merge blocker: all new
seams are dark until `BUZZ_REPLICA_READ_MAX_AGE_MS` is set. But it
changes the rollout gate — **do not set a nonzero
`BUZZ_REPLICA_READ_MAX_AGE_MS` in bb-block until CI enforces these
fixtures.** Filed as #3622 (explicit CI selection against the existing
backend-integration Postgres archive; ordering note: #3619 must land
first or be excluded, since widening the filter would select the
colliding usage-metrics lock test).
## Live redteam results (Max, real Helm + PG17 streaming replication at
`dd26caa9f`) — #3643, #3644
Max deployed this exact SHA via the repo chart against a physical
writer/standby pair and attacked it. **The PR's fenced routing passed
every fault**: healthy baseline routes proven on the real standby;
paused WAL replay moved head/cursor reads to `writer/stale`; B=0 moved
routed reads to `writer/disabled`; reader-URL removal rolled back
cleanly.
The redteam also found a **pre-existing** production risk this PR does
not create and does not fix: NIP-50 search builds its own eager,
unfenced pool straight from `READ_DATABASE_URL` (`main.rs:389-402`,
introduced by #2084, present in the deployed bb-block `sha-dd222a5` and
bb-public `sha-22be8bb` images, and both production ESOs already
template `READ_DATABASE_URL`). Measured: ~30s search stall on reader
loss, acknowledged-but-unsearchable writes under replica lag (unaffected
by `BUZZ_REPLICA_READ_MAX_AGE_MS`), fatal eager connect blocking pod
startup when the reader is down, and `replica=true` FTS even at B=0.
Filed as **#3643** (fix: pin FTS to the writer, or fence it like the
routed seams) with **#3644** for the writer-pointing-reader-URL
telemetry gap. Aurora's cluster-ro writer-fallback DNS softens the
outage modes in prod but not the lag mode.
**Revised ladder consequence:** step 2 ("add `READ_DATABASE_URL`, budget
unset") is NOT a no-op with today's binary — it hands FTS an unfenced
replica pool. Rollout order is now: merge (still a true no-op —
bb-block/bb-public already run the unfenced-FTS code and this PR only
adds dark seams) → fix #3643 → CI enforcement #3622 → then reader URL +
budget per the original ladder, re-running Max's three deployment tests
(reader-down latency, reader-down cold boot, paused-replay
read-your-own-write search).
## Activation gate (consolidated) — merge is clear; ALL of the below
precede any nonzero `BUZZ_REPLICA_READ_MAX_AGE_MS`
Six independent verification passes at `dd26caa9f` (Dawn ×2 incl.
byte-level + defang check, Max matrix + live Helm redteam, Wren full
CRUD regression + greenfield 0026 + 151/151 PG, Eva). Every induced
fault was either handled correctly by this PR's machinery or traced to
pre-existing main code. Remaining work gates **activation, not merge**:
1. **#3643** — unfenced NIP-50 FTS pool (pre-existing #2084; live in
prod today; also explains the blackhole search hang Wren observed — the
routed path was measured bounded at 151-152ms against a silent endpoint,
sqlx `inner.rs:252-255`).
2. **#3651** — reader `statement_timeout`: statements after acquire are
unbounded; mid-transaction blackhole reproduced hanging ≥15s (Dawn).
Small fix via `.after_connect` on the reader pool.
3. **#3622** — CI enforcement of the PG fixtures (with #3619 ordering).
4. **Recovery-conflict cancellation live test** — standby cancels a
routed read mid-snapshot → complete writer page, never partial (#3651's
fix also bounds the cancellation-never-arrives shape).
5. **DDL replication lag test** — migration on writer + paused replay +
budget on → fallback, not client-visible SQL errors.
6. **Reader-tx soak** — 30-60min mixed load; no idle-in-tx accumulation
on the standby.
Then Max's three deployment tests (reader-down latency, reader-down cold
boot, paused-replay read-your-own-write search) re-run on the fixed
binary before the first nonzero budget on bb-block.
---------
Signed-off-by: Tyler Longwell <tlongwell@block.xyz>
Signed-off-by: npub1qyvc0c5kl4gqv2fd97fsk46tu378sqgy35vc83rvgfwne90sel7s0ed67d <011987e296fd5006292d2f930b574be47c7801048d1983c46c425d3c95f0cffd@buzz.block.builderlab.xyz>
Co-authored-by: npub1qyvc0c5kl4gqv2fd97fsk46tu378sqgy35vc83rvgfwne90sel7s0ed67d <011987e296fd5006292d2f930b574be47c7801048d1983c46c425d3c95f0cffd@buzz.block.builderlab.xyz>
Co-authored-by: Tyler Longwell <tlongwell@block.xyz>