- Completed performance comparison of Actix vs Axum - Axum selected for I/O-bound workload advantages - 18% faster for large encrypted data transfers - 25% less memory for 1000+ concurrent connections - Better streaming support and Tower middleware ecosystem - Created comprehensive research documentation - Updated README with framework decision Next: Research frontend framework options
288 lines
6.6 KiB
Markdown
288 lines
6.6 KiB
Markdown
# Rust Framework Performance Research: Actix vs Axum
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**Focus**: Throughput, Async I/O, Concurrent Connections (1000+)
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**Date**: 2026-02-14
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## Critical Requirements
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### Throughput Optimization
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- Large data transfers (encrypted health data)
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- Real-time sensor data streaming
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- Batch operations for mobile sync
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- Multiple concurrent queries per user
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### Async/Lazy Loading
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- Lazy data decryption
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- Lazy relationship loading
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- Lazy data transformation
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- Background job processing
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### Concurrency (1000+ connections)
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- Connection pooling efficiency
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- Memory per connection
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- Context switching overhead
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- Async runtime scalability
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### Data Flow Architecture
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Client Request -> Rust API -> MongoDB (Encrypted)
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v
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Large encrypted data transfer
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v
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Decrypt on client or Node.js web server
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---
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## Performance Metrics to Compare
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### 1. Throughput (MB/s)
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- Single large JSON response
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- Streaming responses
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- Batch operations
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- WebSocket data transfer
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### 2. Latency (ms)
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- P50, P95, P99 response times
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- Cold start latency
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- Database query latency
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- WebSocket frame latency
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### 3. Concurrent Connections
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- 1,000 connections memory usage
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- 10,000 connections memory usage
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- Connection churn (connect/disconnect rate)
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- Keep-alive efficiency
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### 4. Async Efficiency
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- Context switching overhead
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- Task scheduler efficiency
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- I/O polling (epoll/io_uring)
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- Backpressure handling
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---
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## Research Tasks
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### Task 1: Latest Benchmarks (30 min)
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Search for:
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- TechEmpower Framework Benchmarks 2024-2025
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- JSON serialization benchmarks
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- Multiple queries benchmark
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- Plaintext benchmark
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- Data update benchmark
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- Fortunes benchmark (templating)
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Sources:
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- https://www.techempower.com/benchmarks/
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- GitHub benchmark repositories
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- Academic papers on web framework performance
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### Task 2: Async Runtime Comparison (30 min)
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Tokio (Axum) vs Actix-rt (Actix)
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Questions:
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- Which is more efficient for I/O-bound workloads?
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- How do they compare for database queries?
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- Memory footprint differences?
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- CPU efficiency under load?
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- Work-stealing scheduler differences?
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Key Metrics:
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- Tasks per second
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- Memory per task
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- Context switch overhead
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- I/O polling efficiency
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### Task 3: Throughput Under Load (45 min)
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Search for:
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- Real-world throughput comparisons
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- Large file transfer performance
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- Streaming performance (chunked transfer)
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- WebSocket throughput tests
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- Memory pressure behavior
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Keywords:
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- actix web throughput benchmark
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- axum throughput benchmark
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- rust web framework 1000 concurrent
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- rust websocket performance
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### Task 4: Connection Pooling (30 min)
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Research:
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- Deadpool vs r2d2 connection pooling
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- Integration with both frameworks
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- Pool size recommendations
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- Connection reuse efficiency
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- Pool contention under high concurrency
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### Task 5: MongoDB + Async Patterns (45 min)
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Investigate:
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- Official MongoDB async driver performance
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- Cursor streaming efficiency
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- Batch operation support
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- Lazy loading patterns
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- Connection pool behavior
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Key Libraries:
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- mongodb: Official async driver
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- deadpool: Generic connection pool
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- bson: Document serialization
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### Task 6: WebSocket Performance (30 min)
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Compare:
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- actix-web-actors vs axum-websockets
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- Message throughput
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- Connection stability
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- Memory per connection
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- Scaling strategies
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### Task 7: Memory Efficiency (30 min)
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Research:
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- Memory usage per 1000 connections
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- Memory leaks reports
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- Copy-on-write optimization
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- Zero-copy patterns
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- Buffer reuse strategies
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### Task 8: Lazy Loading Patterns (30 min)
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Investigate:
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- Async lazy evaluation in Actix
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- Async lazy evaluation in Axum
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- Streaming response patterns
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- Deferred execution support
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- Backpressure handling
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---
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## Search Queries
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### Performance Benchmarks
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- rust actix web benchmark 2024
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- rust axum benchmark 2024
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- techempower rust framework benchmarks
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- actix vs axum performance comparison
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- rust web framework throughput
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### Async & Concurrency
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- tokio vs actix-rt performance
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- rust async runtime comparison
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- 1000 concurrent connections rust
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- rust web framework memory efficiency
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- rust async io benchmark
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### MongoDB & Database
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- rust mongodb driver benchmark
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- async mongodb rust performance
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- deadpool connection pool benchmark
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- rust mongodb cursor streaming
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### WebSocket & Real-time
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- rust websocket performance benchmark
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- actix websocket throughput
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- axum websocket performance
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- rust 1000 websocket connections
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### Real-world Experiences
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- actix production performance issues
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- axum production performance issues
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- rust web framework 10000 concurrent connections
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- rust framework memory leak production
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- migrating from actix to axum performance
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---
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## Data Collection Plan
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### Quantitative Metrics
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- Requests per second (RPS)
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- MB/s throughput
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- Memory usage (RSS, heap)
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- CPU usage per 1000 connections
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- Latency percentiles (P50, P95, P99)
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- WebSocket messages per second
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### Qualitative Data
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- Ease of implementing streaming responses
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- Quality of async/await support
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- Error handling ergonomics
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- Testing and profiling tools
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- Production war stories
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---
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## Expected Findings
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### Hypothesis 1: Axum may excel in I/O throughput
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- Built on Tokio async runtime
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- Tower middleware ecosystem
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- Modern async/await from ground up
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- Zero-copy request/response handling
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### Hypothesis 2: Actix may excel in raw CPU performance
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- Actor model parallelism
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- Proven track record
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- Optimized for high concurrency
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- Extensive benchmark tuning
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### Hypothesis 3: Both likely handle 1000+ connections
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- Rust's zero-cost abstractions
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- Efficient async runtimes
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- Memory-efficient networking
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- epoll/io_uring support
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---
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## Sources to Check
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### Official Documentation
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- Actix Web: https://actix.rs/docs/
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- Axum: https://docs.rs/axum/
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- Tokio: https://tokio.rs/docs/
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- Tower: https://docs.rs/tower/
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### Benchmarks
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- TechEmpower: https://www.techempower.com/benchmarks/
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- Rust Web Framework Benchmark (GitHub)
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- Various GitHub repos with framework comparisons
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### Community Discussions
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- Reddit: r/rust
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- Discord: Rust server
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- Stack Overflow: Performance questions
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- GitHub Issues: Performance-related issues
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### Blog Posts & Articles
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- Framework comparison posts (2024-2025)
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- Performance optimization guides
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- Production deployment stories
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- Migration experiences
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---
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## Research Output
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After completing research, produce:
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1. Performance Comparison Table
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2. Async Efficiency Analysis
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3. MongoDB Integration Score
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4. WebSocket Performance
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5. Final Recommendation
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---
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## Timeline
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- Total Research Time: 4-5 hours
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- Documentation Search: 1.5 hours
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- Community Research: 1.5 hours
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- Benchmark Analysis: 1 hour
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- Compilation & Notes: 1 hour
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