Sobes.tech
Senior

The test for uniform distribution is failing: backend[0] expected 5 calls, received 10; backend[1] expected 5 calls, received 0.

sobes.tech AI

Answer from AI

An error with uneven distribution of calls between backends is usually related to load balancing issues or errors in the distribution logic.

Possible causes:

  • Incorrect implementation of the balancing algorithm: for example, round-robin may fail if the counter is not updated correctly.
  • Caching or sticky sessions, which cause all requests to go to one server.
  • Concurrency issues: if call counters are updated without synchronization, race conditions may occur.
  • Test errors: perhaps the test incorrectly counts calls or does not account for asynchrony.

For diagnostics:

  • Check the request distribution logic, ensure counters are updated atomically.
  • Use profiling and logging tools to track where requests are actually going.
  • Check the load balancer settings (if any) and ensure there are no sticky sessions.

Example of simple round-robin load balancing with an atomic counter in Go:

var counter uint64
backends := []string{"backend0", "backend1"}

func getBackend() string {
    idx := atomic.AddUint64(&counter, 1)
    return backends[idx%uint64(len(backends))]
}

If the counter is not atomic, distribution errors may occur.