Load testing of the gRPC service

You can use Yandex Load Testing for service load testing via gRPC with the Pandora load generator.

To perform load testing:

1. Prepare your cloud.
2. Prepare a test target.
3. Prepare the infrastructure.
4. Create an agent.
5. Test gRPC Server Reflection.
6. Prepare a file with test data.
7. Run a test.

If you no longer need the resources you created, delete them.

Prepare your cloudPrepare your cloud

Sign up for Yandex Cloud and create a billing account:

1. Go to the management console and log in to Yandex Cloud or create an account if you do not have one yet.
2. On the Yandex Cloud Billing page, make sure you have a billing account linked and it has the ACTIVE or TRIAL_ACTIVE status. If you do not have a billing account, create one.

If you have an active billing account, you can go to the cloud page to create or select a folder for your infrastructure to operate in.

Learn more about clouds and folders.

Required paid resourcesRequired paid resources

If the agent is hosted on Yandex Cloud, a fee is charged for computing resources (see Yandex Compute Cloud pricing).

At the Preview stage, Load Testing can be used free of charge.

Prepare a test targetPrepare a test target

In this example, we'll use a gRPC-service with the 172.17.0.10 internal IP address in the same subnet as the agent.

For instructions on how to integrate the gRPC framework for different programming languages, see the documentation.

1. Configure support for gRPC Server Reflection. To learn how to configure gRPC Server Reflection for different programming languages, see the documentation.

   With gRPC Server Reflection, the load generator polls the server at the start of a test to collect information about services and their methods and uses this data to generate correct gRPC requests during the test.

2. Install a port for accessing the gRPC-service: 8080.

You can also use Load Testing for load testing of a service that is public or located in a subnet and security group other than those of the agent.

For a public service, allow incoming HTTPS traffic to port 8080.

For a service whose subnet and security group differ from the agent's ones, create a rule for incoming HTTPS traffic to port 8080 in the security group where the test target is located.

Prepare the infrastructurePrepare the infrastructure

Create a service accountCreate a service account

1. Create a service account named sa-loadtest in the folder to host the agent that will generate the load.
2. Assign the following roles to the service account:
   • loadtesting.generatorClient: Allows running the agent, performing tests on the agent, and uploading the results to storage.
   • compute.admin: Allows managing VMs in Compute Cloud.
   • vpc.user: Allows connecting to Virtual Private Cloud network resources and using them.

Configure a networkConfigure a network

Create and configure a NAT gateway in the subnet where your test target is and the agent will be hosted. This ensures the agent has access to Load Testing.

Configure security groupsConfigure security groups

1. Set up the test agent's security group:

   1. Create an agent security group named agent-sg.
   2. Add rules:

      1. Rule for outgoing HTTPS traffic to the Load Testing public API:

         • Port range: 443
         • Protocol: TCP
         • Destination name: CIDR
         • CIDR blocks: 0.0.0.0/0

         This will allow connecting the agent to Load Testing to manage tests from the interface and get test results.

      2. Rule for incoming SSH traffic:

         • Port range: 22
         • Protocol: TCP
         • Destination name: CIDR
         • CIDR blocks: 0.0.0.0/0

         This will allow you to connect to the agent over SSH and manage tests from the console or collect debugging information.

      3. Rule for outgoing traffic when generating load to the test target:

         • Port range: 0-65535
         • Protocol: Any
         • Destination name: Security group
           Select From list. Specify the security group where the test target is located.

         Create this rule for each test target with a unique security group.

2. Set up the test target's security group:

   1. Create the test target's security group named load-target-sg.

   2. Add a rule for incoming traffic when generating load to the test target:

      • Port range: 0-65535.
      • Protocol: Any.
      • Select From list. Specify the security group where the test target is located.

      This rule allows agents to generate load to this target or enable additional monitoring tools.

Create a test agentCreate a test agent

1. If you do not have an SSH key pair yet, create one.

2. Create an agent.

   Management console

   1. In the management console, select the folder where you want to create the agent.

   2. In the list of services, select Load Testing.

   3. In the Agents tab, click Create agent.

   4. Enter a name for the agent, e.g., agent-008.

   5. Specify the same availability zone where the test target is located.

   6. Under Agent:

      • Select the appropriate agent type. For more information, see Agent performance.
      • Specify the subnet where the test target is located. Make sure you created and set up a NAT gateway in the subnet.
      • If security groups are available to you, select a security group preset for the agent.

   7. Under Access, specify the information required to access the agent:

      • Select the sa-loadtest service account.

      • Under Login, enter the username.

        Alert

        Do not use root or other usernames reserved by the operating system. To perform operations requiring superuser permissions, use the sudo command.

      • In the SSH key field, paste the contents of the public key file.

   8. Click Create.

   9. Wait for the VM instance to create. Make sure the agent status has changed to Ready for test.

      Note

      If the agent creation process has stopped at Initializing connection, make sure the following conditions are met:

      • The agent has a public IP address and access to loadtesting.api.cloud.yandex.net:443.
      • A NAT gateway is set up in the target subnet.
      • The service account assigned to the agent has the required roles.

3. Assign a public IP to the agent to enable access over SSH:

   Management console

   1. In the management console, select the folder where the agent is located.
   2. Select Compute Cloud.
   3. Select the VM named agent-008.
   4. Under Network interface, in the top-right corner, click and select Add public IP address.
   5. In the window that opens:
      • In the Public address field, select obtaining a Auto address.
      • Click Add.

Test gRPC Server ReflectionTest gRPC Server Reflection

1. Connect to the agent via SSH.

2. Run the following command to test gRPC Server Reflection on the gRPC service:

   TLS connection

   Standard connection

   grpcurl 172.17.0.10:8080 list
   

   grpcurl --plaintext 172.17.0.10:8080 list
   

   Result:

   api.Adder
   grpc.reflection.v1alpha.ServerReflection
   

Prepare a file with test dataPrepare a file with test data

1. Generate payloads in HTTP_JSON format:

   {"tag": "/Add", "call": "api.Adder.Add", "payload": {"x": 21, "y": 12}}
   {"tag": "/Add", "call": "api.Adder.Add", "payload": {"x": 21, "y": 12}}
   {"tag": "/Add2", "call": "api.Adder.Add", "payload": {"x": 210, "y": 120}}
   

   Where:

   • tag: Request tag to display in reports.
   • call: Method being called.
   • payload: Dictionary with call parameters being provided to the test target.

   In our example, two thirds of requests will be tagged as /Add and one third, as /Add2.

2. Save the payloads to a file named data.json.

Run a testRun a test

How to delete the resources you createdHow to delete the resources you created

To stop paying for the resources created, just delete the agent.