Service Resource Optimization Strategy Guide

Detailed explanation of NullPrivate’s service resource optimization strategy, including improvements to the filter update mechanism, recommendations for parallel request optimization, and guidelines for using third-party lists, all aimed at delivering a more stable and reliable service experience.

Background

As user numbers grow and feature demands increase, we have observed that certain high-resource-consumption configuration options can lead to service instability. To ensure service quality, we conducted an in-depth analysis and formulated a corresponding optimization plan.

Resource Optimization Strategy

1. Filter Update Mechanism Optimization

Current Situation

  • Some users have configured hourly filter updates
  • Each update requires a full download-parse-deduplication cycle
  • International bandwidth limitations prolong update times
  • Server resources remain under continuous high load

Optimization Plan

We have adjusted the minimum update interval to 72 hours for the following reasons:

  • Most filter lists update on a 24–72 hour cycle
  • Reduces ineffective resource consumption
  • Ensures service stability
  • Improves bandwidth utilization efficiency

Impact Assessment

  • Positive impacts
    • More stable service response
    • More reasonable resource usage
    • Reduced system load
  • Minimal impact
    • Rule updates still occur within a reasonable cycle
    • No effect on protection efficacy

2. Parallel Request Strategy

Current Situation

Most users currently have parallel requests enabled, but under the existing architecture the benefits are limited:

  • Latency differences among Alibaba Cloud upstream services are typically within 5 ms
  • May trigger Alibaba Cloud public service request-rate limits
  • Adds unnecessary system overhead

Usage Recommendations

  • We recommend using load-balancing mode
  • Parallel requests are suitable for:
    • Scenarios with significant upstream latency differences (>200 ms)
    • Cases of unstable service quality
    • Cross-border access scenarios

Note: We have not yet observed any throttling issues caused by parallel requests, so this feature remains available for now.

3. Third-Party List Management

Security Considerations

To ensure system stability, we have temporarily disabled support for certain third-party lists:

  • External list sizes are unpredictable
  • May lead to resource overruns
  • Service stability cannot be guaranteed

Future Plans

We are researching a safer third-party list management solution so that this feature can be re-enabled in the future.