Ruby On Rails Performance: Tips & Guidance To Enhance It

If you want to develop your app or website with Rails framework, then you may definitely be aware of how Ruby on Rails performance matters. 

In the world of web development, Ruby on Rails has earned its reputation as a robust and efficient framework for building dynamic and powerful web applications. 

However, like any technology, ensuring optimal performance is a crucial aspect to provide users with a seamless experience. 

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll dive into the depths of Ruby on Rails performance, uncovering essential tips and strategies to enhance the speed and efficiency of your applications. 

Whether you’re a seasoned developer or just starting with Ruby on Rails, this guide will equip you with the knowledge you need to optimize your application’s performance.

Let’s Begin!!!!

Ruby on Rails Performance: Overview

Understanding the Importance of ROR Performance

Performance isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s a critical aspect of any web application. 

Slow-loading pages and unresponsive features can lead to frustrated users and high bounce rates. 

In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, users expect near-instantaneous responses. 

A performant application not only enhances user experience but also contributes to higher search engine rankings.

In simple terms, just think of yourself as an app user! Will you stay a long in any application who starts hanging or not performing well in any aspect?

Maybe honest answers of this question will clear the importance of having great Ruby on Rails application’s performance.

How Ruby on Rails Performance Affects User Experience

User experience is directly linked to performance. A sluggish application can lead to decreased user engagement and retention. 

According to studies, a delay in the time it takes for a page to load can significantly reduce conversion rates.

Users are more likely to abandon a site that takes too long to load, leading to missed opportunities for businesses.

Why Should You Improve Rails Performance?

It’s crucial to comprehend why we must optimize Rails performance before diving into the ways for doing so. 

The performance of a Rails app should be optimized for a variety of reasons, including:

Enhance User Experience: 

If an application performs well in every aspect such as navigation, speed, etc. then the user will not get irritated or frustrated while using an application.

Great Resource Utilization:

A Rails application that is well-optimized could result in cost savings on things like server resources.

Scalability:

Simply said, a Ruby on Rails application that has been optimized will scale better than one that has not.

Competitive Advantage:

A web application that outperforms the competition in today’s competitive environment might result in more revenue and contented customers.

Obviously, this is not a comprehensive list, but you can see why having a performant Rails app is crucial. 

Let’s go on to discuss how we can actually improve the performance of our Rails apps.

We’ll stay with some straightforward Rails app examples throughout the article and make enhancements to them.

The models in our first, most basic Rails project are as follows:

• Person (has numerous addresses)

• name:string
• votes_count:integer

• Profile (belongs to Person) 

• address:string

Our Person model appears as follows:

# == Schema Information

#

# Table name: people

#

#  id          :integer          not null, primary key

#  name        :string

#  votes_count :integer

#  created_at  :datetime         not null

#  updated_at  :datetime         not null

#

class Person < ApplicationRecord

  # Relationships

  has_many :profiles

  # Validations

  validates_presence_of :name

  validates_uniqueness_of :name

  def vote!

    update votes_count: votes_count + 1

  end

end

The code for our Profile model is as follows:

# == Schema Information

#

# Table name: profiles

#

#  id         :integer          not null, primary key

#  address    :text

#  person_id  :integer

#  created_at :datetime         not null

#  updated_at :datetime         not null

#

class Profile < ApplicationRecord

  # Relationships

  belongs_to :person

  # Validations

  validates_presence_of :address

end

A seed file to populate 1000 persons is also present. We can easily accomplish this by using Faker gem.

In ApplicationController, we’re going to make an action called “home” right now.

def home

  @people = Person.all

end

The following is the code for our home.html.erb file:

<ul>

  <% @people.each do |person| %>

    <li id=”<%= person.id %>”><%= render person %></li>

  <% end %>

</ul>

If you are working on an existing project or planning to launch a new one, Ruby on Rails active support is good to improve your Rails application performance.

Let’s see all the factors which make your ruby on rails application performance better!!

Profiling Your Application

Identifying Bottlenecks with Profiling Tools

Profiling tools help you pinpoint performance bottlenecks in your Ruby on Rails application. 

By analyzing the data provided by these tools, you can identify specific areas that require optimization. 

Common profiling tools include Rack Mini Profiler and New Relic both of which offer valuable insights into your application’s performance.

Analyzing CPU and Memory Usage

Understanding how your application utilizes CPU and memory resources is crucial for optimization. 

Excessive CPU usage can lead to slow response times, while inefficient memory management can result in crashes and downtime. 

Monitoring and analyzing these metrics will enable you to fine-tune your application for optimal performance.

Database Optimization

Choosing the Right Database Engine

Selecting the appropriate database engine for your Ruby on Rails application can significantly impact its performance. 

Different database engines offer varying levels of speed and scalability. 

Consider factors such as read and write operations, data complexity, and expected traffic when making your decision.

Indexing for Faster Query Performance

Indexing is a powerful technique for improving database query performance. 

You may drastically decrease the amount of time it takes to obtain data by establishing indexes on the columns that get asked about a lot.

Careful consideration of indexing strategies can lead to noticeable performance gains in your application.

Caching Strategies

Implementing Page and Fragment Caching

Caching is an effective strategy to store frequently accessed data and reduce the load on your application’s resources. 

Page caching involves storing entire HTML pages, while fragment caching targets specific parts of a page. 

By intelligently implementing caching, you can dramatically enhance the speed of your application.

Leveraging Browser Caching for Assets

Browser caching allows users to store static assets like images, JavaScript, and CSS locally.

This means that subsequent visits to your site will require fewer requests to the server, resulting in quicker load times. 

Configuring appropriate caching headers for your assets is a simple yet impactful way to boost performance.

Asset Compilation and Compression

Managing and Minifying JavaScript and CSS

Efficient asset management involves consolidating and minifying JavaScript and CSS files. 

This reduces the number of requests made to the server, leading to faster load times. 

Additionally, minification removes unnecessary characters and whitespace, further optimizing your assets for performance.

Utilizing Content Delivery Networks (CDNs)

Content Delivery Networks distribute your assets across multiple servers located in different geographic regions. 

When a user accesses your application, the assets are served from the nearest server, reducing latency and load times. 

CDNs are a powerful tool for global applications seeking to enhance their performance.

Scaling Your Application

Horizontal vs. Vertical Scaling

Scaling is a crucial consideration as your application grows. 

Horizontal scaling involves adding more servers to distribute the load, while vertical scaling entails upgrading your existing servers to handle increased traffic. 

The choice between the two depends on your application’s architecture and specific needs.

Load Balancing for High Traffic

Load balancing evenly distributes incoming traffic across multiple servers, preventing any one server from becoming overwhelmed. 

This not only improves performance but also enhances the reliability and availability of your application. 

Load balancers can be implemented at various levels, from hardware to software solutions.

Code Efficiency and Best Practices

Writing Optimized Ruby Code

Efficient Ruby code can have a significant impact on your application’s performance. 

Utilize coding best practices, avoid unnecessary iterations, and optimize algorithms to ensure your code runs smoothly and quickly. 

Regular code reviews and refactoring are essential to maintain optimal performance.

You can hire dedicated ruby on rails developers from any of the best ruby on rails agencies to get high code efficiency for your dream project of Rails application. 

Avoiding N+1 Query Problems

The N+1 query problem occurs when an application makes multiple queries to retrieve related data. 

This can lead to a significant performance hit, especially as the dataset grows. 

Utilize eager loading techniques to fetch all necessary data in a single query, minimizing the impact on performance.

See what “people/_person.html.erb” accomplishes:

<ul>

  <li>

    Name: <%= person.name %>

  </li>

  <li>

    Addresses:

      <ul>

        <% person.profiles.each do |profile| %>

          <li><%= profile.address %></li>

        <% end %>

      </ul>

  </li>

</ul>

<%= button_to “Vote #{person.votes_count}”, vote_person_path(person) %>

Basically, it looks up that person’s profiles in the database and renders each one. 

This results in N queries (where N is the total number of users) as well as the one query we ran in the controller, giving us N+1.

Use the MySQL database joins and the ActiveRecord includes functions in Rails to optimize this.

Change the controller to correspond to the following:

def home

  @people = Person.all.includes(:profiles)

end

One MySQL query loads everyone, and another loads each of their individual requests. reducing N+1 to only two queries.

Consider how this improves performance.

The website loaded in only 936 milliseconds for us. The “application_controller#home” action does 2 MySQL queries, as you can see in the screenshot below.

Rendered people/_person.html.erb (0.3ms)

Rendered people/_person.html.erb (0.2ms)

Rendered people/_person.html.erb (0.3ms)

Rendered people/_person.html.erb (0.3ms)

Rendered people/_person.html.erb (0.3ms)

Rendered people/_person.html.erb (0.3ms)

Rendered people/_person.html.erb (0.3ms)

Rendered people/_person.html.erb (0.2ms)

Rendered application/home.html.erb within layouts/application (936.0ms)

Completed 200 OK in 936ms (Views: 927.1ms | ActiveRecord: 9.3ms)

Background Jobs and Queues

Offloading Processing with Background Jobs

Some tasks, such as sending emails or processing large files, can be resource-intensive and impact your application’s responsiveness. 

Background jobs allow you to offload these tasks to separate worker processes, ensuring that your application remains swift and responsive for users.

Using Redis and Sidekiq for Efficient Queues

Redis and Sidekiq are popular tools for managing background job queues in Ruby on Rails applications. 

Redis, an in-memory data structure store, provides fast and efficient data storage, while Sidekiq offers a simple and effective way to manage and execute background jobs.

Monitoring and Alerting

Setting Up Performance Monitoring Tools

Regularly monitoring your application’s performance is essential to catch potential issues before they impact users. 

Performance Testing Rails Applications tools enable real-time monitoring of key metrics, allowing you to identify and address performance degradation promptly.

Creating Alerts for Anomalies

Configuring alerts based on predefined thresholds ensures that you’re notified when your application’s performance deviates from the norm. 

These alerts can help you take proactive measures to rectify issues and maintain optimal performance, even during unexpected traffic spikes.

Security and Performance

Mitigating Performance Impact of Security Measures

While security is paramount, certain security measures can impact your application’s performance. 

Carefully assess the trade-offs between security and performance when implementing measures like encryption and authentication. 

Striking the right balance ensures your application remains both secure and fast.

Preventing DDoS Attacks without Sacrificing Performance

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks can cripple your application’s performance and availability. 

Implementing DDoS protection mechanisms, such as rate limiting and traffic filtering, helps mitigate the impact of such attacks without compromising the overall performance of your application.

Now, we will dive into the best practices of enhancing ruby on rails performance. 

Key Ideas To Improve A Ruby on Rails Performance

In this section of the blog, we have discussed the quick key tips to enhance ruby on rails performance for your dream project. Have a look:

Server Optimization:

Server is a crucial part of an application for better performance. To get faster and quick results of your existing products, it is mandatory to optimize server performance. 

There are few steps written below for ruby on rails performance optimization:

• Cloud Hosting
• VPN Hosting
• Dedicated Hosting

Enlarge RAM Capacity:

Yeah! If so many users will use your app simultaneously, then it needs high RAM capacity.

As the user’s traffic increases on your Rails app, the application performance would decrease.

To overcome all these issues, it is better to expand RAM, so every user can smoothly surf on the application. 

As an alternative option, you can go for a powerful CPU or import SSD to experience more enhanced app performance.

Implement Balancing Method:

It won’t be simple to handle requests and resolve them in a short amount of time if your application experiences large daily traffic. 

To improve the performance of your web application, you can begin employing the load balancing method to handle the request at the proper moment.

Select Right Web Hosting:

Because web hosting is essential to any application’s overall efficiency, selecting the best RoR hosting services is crucial. 

Use the appropriate service provider to meet the needs of your application, therefore, at all times.

Optimizing the Performance of Backend Rails:

To improve the performance of your current web application, you must optimize the backend of your Ruby applications. 

Follow the advice given below to steer clear of any issues in the future.

Ruby Code Optimization:

Ruby on Rails web application code shouldn’t be difficult to comprehend.

However, utilizing code that is simple to work with is a fairly clear issue that every Ruby on Rails developer is aware of.

To obtain the maximum speed out of Ruby code in your application, it’s critical to apply clean code basics.

Indexing:

Inadequate indexing is one of the causes of the Ruby on Rails API’s sluggish performance in your application. 

Server response times increase with less accurate indexing. Therefore, whenever possible, try to establish indexing to cover the necessary information in order to fix this problem.

Use Gems and plugins:

Learn about ruby on rails gems and plugins as one of the many stated techniques to speed up your RoR application. 

Fantastic Rails gems and plugins are available from the RoR community to save you a ton of time.

Even so, it’s a good idea to do some study on the plugin’s source before using it for your intended use. 

There are numerous beneficial plugins and gems to help you improve your RoR code.

Avoid HTML loads:

Page speed can be increased by using the correct HTTP catching header or by setting up HTTP2 to support multiplexing. 

To compare Ruby on Rails performance, stay away from HTML loads that make the system less responsive. For improved performance, change your interactive metric to 2s.

Cache Data:

Rails performance can be enhanced by caching the data whenever the server reloads in response to new requests. 

The requirement to cache the web page’s data, which slows down your Ruby on Rails web application and causes Ruby on Rails performance concerns, is something to keep in mind.

GC Optimization in Ruby on Rails:

Garbage Collection is referred to as GC. It aids in memory management for the web application. 

For Ruby performance optimization, the use of GC tuning will speed up testing and application performance.

Use More Compressed Files:

Large file data, including images or movies, can slow down the application’s overall performance or any particular page where the data is presented. 

Therefore, to improve the Ruby performance of your application and speed up page reloading, always utilize compressed pictures and videos.

Conclusion

In the world of web development, achieving optimal Ruby on Rails performance is a multifaceted endeavour. 

By adopting a holistic approach that encompasses database optimization, caching strategies, code efficiency, and scalability techniques, you can ensure that your application delivers a seamless and responsive experience to users. 

Remember that performance optimization is an ongoing process, requiring regular monitoring, analysis, and adaptation to keep pace with evolving user expectations and technological advancements.

To go further for your Rails project with better results, it is great to connect with an expert ruby on rails development services. They will help you to reach your app performance expectations for sure. 

HAPPY RUBY ON RAILS PERFORMANCE!!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)