Grant Application: CoW Protocol Playground Performance Testing Suite

This is a reduced version, full version available in the forum: https://forum.cow.fi/t/grant-application-cow-protocol-playground-performance-testing-suite/3263

Team: @bleu @yvesfracari @ribeirojose @mendesfabio @lgahdl

About Us: bleu is a web3 technology and UX partner. Our CoW work includes: Framework Agnostic SDK, Hook dApps (cow-shed module), and Offline Development Mode (proposal).

Simple Summary

Performance testing suite for CoW Protocol Playground that generates configurable synthetic load, measures performance end-to-end, integrates with Prometheus/Grafana, and works primarily with fork mode (using CoW archive node).

Problem & Solution

Current limitations:

• Performance testing requires production deployment
• No synthetic load generation capability
• Cannot measure optimization impact before deployment
• Unable to simulate edge cases or stress conditions
• No standardized performance testing approach

Benefits:

• Risk reduction through pre-deployment performance validation
• Faster development with immediate optimization measurement
• Better insights into system behavior under various loads
• Data-driven optimization decisions
• Reproducible testing scenarios
• Fork mode testing with realistic mainnet state

Milestones & Funding

Milestone	Duration	Payment
M1 — Load Generation Framework	2 weeks	6,000 xDAI
M2 — Performance Benchmarking	2 weeks	6,000 xDAI
M3 — Metrics & Visualization	2 weeks	6,000 xDAI
M4 — Test Scenarios	1 week	3,000 xDAI
M5 — Integration, Documentation & Offline Mode Exploration	2 weeks	6,000 xDAI
Maintenance	1 year	27,000 COW

Total: 27,000 xDAI + 27,000 COW vesting | Duration: 9 weeks

Key Deliverables

M1 - Load Generation Framework:

• Order generation engine (market/limit orders, configurable rates/sizes/pairs)
• User simulation module (concurrent traders, signature generation)
• CLI tool interface with real-time progress
• Order submission strategies (constant rate, burst, ramp-up)

M2 - Performance Benchmarking:

• Metrics collection (order lifecycle timing, settlement latency, API response times, resource utilization)
• Baseline snapshot system with version control
• Comparison engine with regression detection
• Automated reporting with statistical analysis

M3 - Metrics & Visualization:

• Prometheus exporters for testing metrics
• Grafana dashboards (throughput, latency distributions, resource usage, comparisons)
• Alerting rules for performance degradation and thresholds

M4 - Test Scenarios:

• Predefined scenarios: light, medium, heavy, spike, sustained, edge cases
• Configuration-driven system (YAML/JSON)
• Example scenario collection with documentation

M5 - Integration & Documentation:

• End-to-end fork mode testing with Anvil (anvil --fork-url $MAINNET_RPC)
• CoW archive node integration and validation
• Anvil state caching verification
• Offline mode compatibility exploration (stretch goal)
• Comprehensive documentation (quick start, configuration, metrics interpretation, architecture, troubleshooting)

Technical Approach

Fork Mode Integration (Primary):

• Anvil fork mode with archive node
• Realistic mainnet state and DEX liquidity
• State caching for faster subsequent runs
• 12s block time configuration
• Docker integration with playground services

Framework Selection:

• Evaluate k6 (leading candidate for Grafana integration) vs Python alternatives
• CoW SDK integration for realistic order schemas
• API-first approach treating playground as HTTP APIs

Architecture:

• Concurrent/asynchronous execution for high-volume generation
• CLI-first design for CI/CD integration
• Configuration-driven scenarios
• Docker-native integration
• Modular design separating generation, collection, visualization

Load Generation Strategy:

• Realistic order simulation using CoW SDK schemas
• Configurable load patterns
• Minimal system resource impact
• Extensible for new order types

Metrics Collection:

• Non-intrusive monitoring leveraging existing infrastructure
• Prometheus/Grafana standard protocols
• Rich metrics with latency distributions
• Historical performance tracking

Why This Matters

For Backend Engineers:

• Test performance changes before production
• Measure optimization impact immediately
• No production risk for performance testing
• Reproducible test scenarios

For Solver Developers:

• Test strategies under various load conditions
• Understand system limits and bottlenecks
• Validate optimizations with concrete metrics

For the Ecosystem:

• Reduce deployment risks
• Accelerate development cycles
• Enable data-driven optimization
• Standardized performance benchmarking

Evaluation Against RFP Criteria

Load Generation: Realistic user simulation with CoW SDK schemas, flexible scenarios, scalable architecture, industry-standard tools (k6/Python)

Metrics Quality: Comprehensive metrics (latency, throughput, resource usage, errors), statistical analysis, regression detection, historical tracking

Ease of Use: Simple CLI commands, pre-built scenarios, clear documentation, intuitive configuration, automated reporting

Integration: Fork mode with archive node, Prometheus/Grafana native integration, Docker Compose seamless integration, CI/CD ready, offline mode exploration (stretch)

Maintainability: Clean modular architecture, test coverage, comprehensive documentation, example scenarios

Cost & Timeline: 27,000 xDAI over 9 weeks ($3,000/week), 27,000 COW (1-year vesting), buffer included for fork mode edge cases

Alignment with Grants DAO Values

• Open Source: All code in CoW Protocol repositories from day 0
• Clear Milestones: 5 focused phases with verifiable deliverables
• Price Transparency: Phase-by-phase breakdown at $3,000/week
• Sustainability: 1-year maintenance through COW vesting
• Quality Focus: Comprehensive testing and documentation
• Community Benefit: Enables faster, safer development for all contributors
• Responsiveness: Direct engagement and iterative development

Budget Breakdown

M1 - Load Generation: 6,000 xDAI (2 weeks)

• Core order generation engine, user simulation, CLI tool, submission strategies

M2 - Performance Benchmarking: 6,000 xDAI (2 weeks)

• Metrics collection, baseline system, regression detection, automated reporting

M3 - Metrics & Visualization: 6,000 xDAI (2 weeks)

• Prometheus exporters, Grafana dashboards, alerting rules

M4 - Test Scenarios: 3,000 xDAI (1 week)

• Predefined scenarios, configuration system, documentation

M5 - Integration & Documentation: 6,000 xDAI (2 weeks)

• Fork mode validation, archive node integration, offline mode exploration, comprehensive documentation

Maintenance: 27,000 COW (1-year vesting)

• Bug fixes, feature enhancements, documentation updates, community support

Total CAP: 27,000 xDAI + 27,000 COW

Payment Information

Gnosis Chain Address: 0x554866e3654E8485928334e7F91B5AfC37D18e04

Terms

By submitting this grant application, we acknowledge and agree to be bound by the CoW DAO Participation Agreement and the CoW Grant Terms and Conditions.