CI Load Test for http-echo using Kind and k6

Source: Dev.to

Solution Overview

This project implements a comprehensive load‑testing solution using:

• Kind – creates a multi‑node Kubernetes cluster for realistic testing environments.
• NGINX Ingress Controller – routes HTTP requests to different services based on hostnames.
• k6 – performs load testing with detailed metrics and performance analysis.

Architecture

┌─────────────────┐    ┌──────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐
│   k6 Load Test  │───▶│  NGINX Ingress   │───▶│  http‑echo apps │
│                 │    │   Controller     │    │                 │
│ - foo.localhost │    │                  │    │ - foo service   │
│ - bar.localhost │    │  (Port 80/443)   │    │ - bar service   │
└─────────────────┘    └──────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘
                                │
                                ▼
                       ┌──────────────────┐
                       │   Kind Cluster   │
                       │                  │
                       │ - Control plane  │
                       │ - Worker node    │
                       └──────────────────┘

Project Structure

kind-http-echo-test/
├── README.md               # This documentation
├── kind-config.yaml        # Kind cluster configuration
├── k8s/                    # Kubernetes manifests
│   ├── http-echo-foo.yaml  # Foo service deployment
│   └── http-echo-bar.yaml  # Bar service deployment
└── loadtest/               # Load‑testing scripts
    └── load-test.js        # k6 load‑test script

Prerequisites

Ensure the following tools are installed in the CI environment:

• Docker
• Kind
• kubectl
• k6

CI Workflow

The project is intended for automated CI/CD pipelines that trigger on each pull request to the default branch. The workflow consists of four sequential stages.

Stage 1 – Environment Setup

Purpose: Prepare the CI runner with all necessary tools and dependencies (supports both AMD64 and ARM64 agents).

Key Activities

• Checkout the repository.
• Install the k6 load‑testing tool via the package manager.
• Download and install Kind for local Kubernetes clusters.
• Set up kubectl for cluster management.
• Configure required permissions and environment variables.

Stage 2 – Cluster Provisioning

Purpose: Create and configure a complete Kubernetes environment for testing.

Key Activities

• Create a multi‑node Kind cluster using kind-config.yaml.
• Install the NGINX Ingress Controller for request routing.
• Wait for all control‑plane components to become ready.
• Deploy the http‑echo applications (foo and bar services).
• Verify that all pods are running and services are reachable.
• Configure Ingress rules for hostname‑based routing.

Stage 3 – Load Testing

Purpose: Execute comprehensive load testing against the deployed services.

Key Activities

• Perform health‑check probes to verify endpoint availability.
• Run the k6 script (load-test.js) with predefined scenarios.
• Monitor real‑time performance metrics during the run.
• Generate detailed test results in JSON format.
• Capture custom metrics for both foo and bar services (response times, error rates, throughput).

Test Configuration

Performance Thresholds

• Ramp‑up: 10 s to reach target load
• Sustained load: 30 s at peak virtual users
• Ramp‑down: 10 s to zero load
• P95 response time

Reference: Goodnotes Take‑Home Assignment – DevOps Engineering

Note: The solution did not meet the team’s expectations.