How to Scale Ruby on Rails Web Application?
Tags: ruby, rails, webapp
Published: 2022-08-22 12:50:44

Modern and fashionable web apps greatly benefit from Ruby on Rails' contributions. When we discuss the scalability of Ruby on Rails, we are directed to the framework's possible development and manage more users per minute on the website/web app.

The crucial difference is that the design of the framework, not the RoR framework, is accountable for Ruby on Rail apps' ability to scale. Let's examine the basic scalability process using the Ruby on Rails server architecture as an example.

Here, a single server hosts the initial version of the fundamental RoR application architecture.

- The server Nginx,
- The app server rack
- a sample of your Ruby on Rails program
- A representation of your database

Let's assume for the time being that the device can easily handle 100 users per hour. As the program's popularity grows, the number of user requests increases and the amount of traffic per minute is boosted by hundreds or thousands.

## Scalability Problems with Ruby on Rails

What are the Most Common Issues with Rails App Scaling? is the most common query. Let's investigate it.

You may be aware that when your application expands, Rails introduces scalability on its own, but the issue is with the system design, not the framework. When your application expands quickly, employing the Rails strategy is probably not the best course of action. I'm not suggesting scaling Rails applications is never difficult.

## What to Consider When Scaling the RoR App

- You may use these performances to protect your Ruby on Rails app from scaling problems.
- Make a copy of your main features as soon as you fix the prototype of your Ruby on Rails app because you already plan to scale it shortly. It would be best if you had a solid backup plan in case something doesn't turn out as you had intended.
- To determine the room for improvement in your app, incorporate the loading tests into the pre-deployment process. Also, find out how long each process will take to finish.
- Choose automatic scaling so that the server's capacity will increase whenever the number of users for your app increases.
- Your program will consume a lot of capacity if it needs to perform activities involving third-party APIs, network support, or input/output transactions. Avoid such processes and instead use alternative techniques that don't require synchronization between these activities.
- Utilize Docker and Kubernetes.
- Consider carefully which areas of your application might require an extensible database before selecting your databases.
- Check your RoR app analytics frequently to determine where the threshold is being reached. Utilize programs like Datadog and New Relic.
- To prevent malfunction, break down the logic of your software into manageable tasks and schedule them one after another.
- To alert your development team when you anticipate a spike in traffic, stay in constant communication with them.

## Top Techniques for Scaling Your RoR App

You must make an effort as you scale the design of your Rails application, but how will you know when to do so? It would be best if you determined when traffic is at its busiest.

The following are some tried-and-true programs to monitor your app's performance and stats as traffic increases:

### Latest Relic

Observability platform, which is well-known and well-liked. Many AWS services are integrated, along with Docker and Kubernets.

### Flame Diagrams
Visual picture of the traffic threshold that your Rails app is approaching.

### Splunk
Handle, view, and analyze your app's data, traffic, and performance with Splunk.

### StatsD
Your app's metrics are provided to you using a standard protocol.

## Conclusion
As the last point, I'd like to draw your attention to what Shopify stated on the scalability of the Rails app in a previous RoR conference interview: "There's no magic formula to grow rails app. But if that's what you're asking, does it scale? The answer is indeed correct. Hire a Ruby on Rails developer from us to create scalable web architectures if you require help with **[scaling ruby on Rails app](https://www.bacancytechnology.com/blog/scaling-ruby-on-rails-application)**.