Over time, Wooga has evolved the backend architecture of its games from using traditional client-server models with Flash and mobile clients, to using HTTP APIs, load balancers, app servers, and database servers. To optimize performance, Wooga has implemented techniques like caching with Redis, database profiling, hot/cold data patterns, and leveraging the concurrency of Erlang in later systems. Looking ahead, Wooga aims to build multiplayer capabilities and remove single points of failure from its infrastructure.

1. Evolution of Backend @ Wooga
Sukumar Yethadka

4. Client
Server

5. Client
Flash
Mobile
Asynchronous

6. Server
HTTP API
Persistence

7. Server
HTTP API
Persistence
State Operations
Validation

8. Load Balancer
App Servers
Database Servers
Game1

9. App Server Database Server

10. App Server Database Server
NO CACHE!

11. 2 M + 2 S 250 K

12. 2 M + 2 S 250 K
Optimization Profiling
DB Configurations

13. 2 M + 2 S 250 K
Optimization Profiling
DB Configurations
8 M + 8 S 500 K

14. Ruby
Game2
Bare Metal
Redis

15. Data
Self Contained
Hot/Cold Pattern
Not Cacheable

16. Stateless
Stateful

17. Erlang
It’s concurrent!™
Game3

18. Erlang
Process
Transactions
Inbox

19. Load Balancer
App Servers
Database Servers
Redis
SETNX

20. App Server Database Server

21. App Server Database Server

22. Results :: Ops
Deployment in < 1s
Hot Code Reload

23. Results :: Data
80ms> 8ms> 1msResponse Time:
For Cloud
CPU Bound

24. Future
Multiplayer
Replace RedisRemove SPOF
Game8

25. github.com/wooga

26. Questions?
@sthadka/sthadka
wooga.com/jobs