Do you think chaos can be organized? Well, this is precisely the purpose of chaos engineering. Today, with the advent of microservices and distributed cloud spaces, the web world has become much more complex than in the past. We are all more dependent on these systems than ever before, and any error in these systems can cause many problems. Chaos engineering is a method for predicting unexpected events and system failures that we have examined in this article. Stay with us.
What is chaos engineering?
Chaos engineering is a systematic approach to identifying failures before they occur. In this method, by performing preventive tests, we determine how the system reacts in critical situations and solve its problems. Chaos engineering allows us to compare our perception of system behavior with what is happening and understand what is wrong with our system.
Experts say that chaos engineering is the process of testing a computing system to make sure that the system can withstand unexpected disturbances. Chaos engineering has been designed based on the basic concepts of chaos theory. This theory focuses on random behavior and unpredictable events. The goal of chaos engineering is to identify system weaknesses through controlled experiments; That is, with this work, we can find the system’s vulnerable points and fix their problems.
Systems fail for various reasons. The more complex the system, the more unpredictable and chaotic its behavior becomes. The central concept of chaos theory is to intentionally disrupt a system to gather information that can help make the system resilient and resilient. One of the most critical applications of chaos engineering is finding security weaknesses in the digital space. For example, IT engineers find hidden problems, blind spots, and performance bottlenecks in the system by conducting several tests to eliminate them before hacker attacks.
Why is chaos engineering important?
Today, our lives and businesses depend on computer systems. With the advancement of technology, these systems have become more complex, and it is difficult to predict their possible errors. Computer system problems significantly impact our lives, and a small error can cost companies a lot. For example, according to the CEO of British Airways, a system error in 2017 caused tens of thousands of passengers of this airline to get lost at the airport, costing the company 80 million pounds. Therefore, companies must anticipate possible problems to avoid getting caught in critical situations.
The role of chaos engineering in distributed systems
Distributed systems are more complex than integrated systems. These systems consist of several computers connected by a network. These computers interact and share their components. Distributed systems aim to synchronize and complete different tasks, so predicting all their possible errors is difficult. There are eight mistakes in distributed systems that novice programmers may not consider. These errors are:
- The network is reliable;
- Network delay is zero;
- Bandwidth is infinite;
- The network is secure;
- The topology does not change;
- There is a manager;
- The cost of transportation is zero;
- The network is homogeneous.
Many of these errors help us design chaos engineering experiments. For example, network outages can cause many failures that affect clients, or applications may constantly consume memory. Each of these samples needs testing and preparation; for this reason, chaos engineering helps us know the problems of a distributed system and prepare for them.
How chaos engineering works
Chaos engineering is similar to stress testing, aiming to identify and correct system or network problems. Stress testing tests and corrects one component at a time, but chaos engineering examines all problems with infinite possible causes. It has a holistic view of problems and measures the system’s performance against problems that are less likely to occur. The process of chaos engineering includes several steps that we will examine below.
1. Steady-state process planning
One of the most critical questions in chaos engineering is what might cause an error. We can assess potential weaknesses and discuss possible outcomes by asking this question about our service and system. In this step, we identify the correct functioning of the system in normal mode. We then review our priorities to find more likely or damaging errors.
2. Create a hypothesis
At this stage, we want to know how these weak points’ errors affect the system’s performance, customers, and the organization’s services. Therefore, we consider and hypothesize about one or more of the system’s weak points. We develop possible scenarios in the form of hypotheses to know how to create chaos in the system. For example, software testers may want to examine system performance to understand what happens to the system when traffic increases. In this case, the increase in traffic will be a point of chaos in the system.
3. doing an experiment
In the third step, we conduct experiments to measure the consequences. Experiments may reveal a critical process error or identify an unexpected cause-and-effect relationship. These controlled tests identify system errors under certain conditions and allow us to correct them. For example, the simulation of system traffic increase may tell us that the data storage performance will suffer.
4. Assessment
To understand how the system performs in critical conditions, we need to measure the availability and stability of the system. We review the test results and find the points of failure so the support team can fix them. This ensures our system has a stable and correct operation even in critical times.
5. Troubleshooting
After running chaos engineering experiments, there are two possible results. In the first case, the test confirms that your system is resistant to failure, and in the second case, it shows you the problem that caused the system to fail. Experts say that both modes are good for you. In the first case, you will have more confidence in your system and its behavior; in the second case, you will have identified the problem before it becomes a severe problem and can fix it at this stage.
Best practices for chaos engineering
Chaos engineering is a complex process. To avoid causing problems, it is better to use safe methods. First, understand the typical behavior of the system. A complete understanding of the system in a healthy and stable condition will help you better diagnose problems. Then, simulate possible scenarios and focus on injecting potential failures and bugs. Create chaos in the system’s weak points and check the system’s performance to find the problems.
Chaos engineering can be very disruptive, so design your experiment carefully and carefully. Coordinate with IT teams, developers, and other organizational units and identify system issues with minimal damage.
last word
Today, distributed systems and microservices have increased, making web systems more complex. For this reason, it is more challenging to predict system failures than in the past. We must have new methods to prevent errors in the system. Chaos engineering is one of these methods. In chaos engineering, by creating controlled errors, we identify system weaknesses and bugs and solve potential problems before they occur.
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