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Waiting Room
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Waiting Room
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Test a waiting room

Follow this tutorial to ensure your Waiting Room queues and admits users as expected.

​​ Before you begin

Before you start this tutorial, ensure you have:

​​ 1. Download sample script

First, download the sample script from GitHub.

This script simulates users entering a waiting room. It divides traffic into two phases (Phase 1 and Phase 2) so you can test wait times as load increases and then decreases.

​​ 2. Run sample script

Once you have downloaded the script, run it with the following command-line arguments:

  • -n <num_secs_p1>: Number of seconds to send requests during phase 1
  • -m <num_secs_p2>: Number of seconds to send requests during phase 2, which is fixed at 1 request per second
  • -s <sleep_time_p1>: Amount of time to sleep between requests during phase 1 (fractional time accepted, such as .3)
  • -o <results>: File to store the per-session statistics
  • URL: Endpoint protected by a Cloudflare Waiting Room
Example script run
Function
simulate_requests -s .1 -n 60 -m 60 -o results https://example.com/tickets/1234/

Output

Sending 600 requests to https://example.com/tickets/1234/ at a rate of 10.00 per second. Or 600 per minute.

Wed 10 Mar 2021 10:48:59 AM CST
...................................................................................................................a.aa.aa.a..
Wed 10 Mar 2021 10:50:00 AM CST

Now doing 1 request per second for 60 seconds.
babdacdbeacbc.abbedcbacbddaccdaeebbcabedccaebddbcacedb.cadcedbacabcbeacbbabdcdbaaebddcbcabeeadbcbacadedabbaacd.dabecbabbdecbdaegehgjkfjifggfihjhghhfhifkfj.gjighhgfiihgdihkffiejgjjigggjkijkk
Wed 10 Mar 2021 10:51:01 AM CST

Waiting for jobs to finish
hgiibjjjjcjhjgbgiggikihhjcihhhhlkkknmjjmmjnnonokklmmklnmonmlonoompollplommpmmpolpoqmponngoonqjimqmgjmmnkmogmqoiqpoqolmmqonghpppjpiopoopqomkqnnqgnmqnnppopnqrpptqtrrrrpsrqtrusrtsvusvsrrvstttrvsvsvussrtuwtvrtsvtrvsqunrmtrrrsqnqptvsuqturwsvstnmwuwtusvsvwsouspqtuuvsvrvwtwssvqtuuuwspvoxyzyyvwvzwxyxyyAzyyzABxBBzyxyxxBBACzzyxAvwsyzxztzvuvtCACyvxstuutvCw
Wed 10 Mar 2021 10:54:22 AM CST

As the script runs, it will output characters with each character representing:

  • A user session that advanced past the waiting room
  • The amount of time the user spent in the waiting room:
    • 0 seconds: .
    • 10 seconds: a
    • 20 seconds: b
    • 30 seconds: c
      …
    • 260 seconds: A
    • 270 seconds: B
      …
    • 530 seconds: 0
    • 540 seconds: 1
      …
    • Greater than 620 seconds: !

​​ 3. Analyze results

Once the script finishes running, it creates a CSV file with the following fields:

Fields in CSV file
  • job: The fixed string will either be main for phase 1 or post for phase 2
  • status: Status of the last response of the session:
    • 0: curl command received an HTTP status code of 200
    • 1: curl command did not receive any HTTP status codes, which typically means the curl command itself failed
    • 2: curl command received an HTTP status code of something other than 200
  • wait_time: Number of seconds the user waited in the waiting room
  • wr_cnt_before: Number of users in the waiting room when the session first started
  • wr_cnt_after: Number of users in the waiting room when the session made it past the waiting room
  • start_time: Time when the session first started (in UNIX epoch seconds)
  • end_time: Time when the session made it past the waiting room (in UNIX epoch seconds)

To visualize your results, open your CSV file within a spreadsheet application. For example, here is a basic chart that shows the amount of time a user waited verses the time they first tried to get to the web service:

Visualizing waiting room test data by using a graphing tool

In this example, you can clearly see when the script entered the second phase — with a reduced rate of new users per second — leading to decreased wait times.

​​ 4. Adjust waiting room (optional)

Based on the results of your test, you may want to adjust the settings of your waiting room.