Enhancing Scalability and Performance with Microsoft Orleans

How Managed Code engineers implemented a micro-agent architecture capable of processing tens of thousands of events per second while reducing latency and improving system reliability.

1. Context

Many growing platforms face similar challenges as their user base expands:

  • increasing load,
  • complex parallel processing,
  • declining performance during peak periods,
  • and risks of data loss or inconsistency.

For these scenarios, the Managed Code team applies Microsoft Orleans — a .NET framework for building scalable distributed systems.
This approach enables systems that scale horizontally, manage workloads automatically, and maintain stability even under heavy load.

2. The Challenge

The client’s platform encountered issues typical for high-growth systems:

  • Scalability problems: as traffic increased, the system struggled during peak loads.
  • Concurrency complexity: ensuring data integrity across many simultaneous operations.
  • High latency: slow processing and delayed user response times.
  • Reliability: maintaining continuous operation and consistent data during node failures.

3. Managed Code Solution

Our engineers implemented an architecture based on Microsoft Orleans using the actor model — where independent objects (“actors” or grains) handle specific parts of the system.

This model provided full process isolation, simplified concurrency, and enabled seamless horizontal scaling.

Core Grain Types

Task
Description

Metrics Collection & Processing

Dedicated grains gather and process data streams in parallel.

Data Collection & Web Scraping

Grains handle specific APIs or sources, allowing horizontal scaling.

Event & Webhook Handling

Grains receive, validate, and log events in real time under variable load.

Log Analysis & Incident Management

Grains perform live log analysis, detect anomalies, and trigger response workflows.

4. Scalability and Performance

Orleans dynamically activates grains only when needed, keeping resource usage optimal.In benchmark environments, grains processed over 40 000 events per second on small Azure VMs, maintaining consistent latency.
The system supports horizontal scaling — adding servers increases capacity without changing the codebase.

5. Concurrency Management

Each grain in Orleans follows a single-threaded execution model, eliminating the need for locks and race-condition handling.
This guarantees data consistency with minimal synchronization overhead and simpler logic.

6. Low Latency

Thanks to Orleans’ asynchronous messaging, grains communicate directly and efficiently.
Even under heavy parallel loads, message passing remains fast, resulting in significantly lower response times and improved user experience.

7. Reliability and Fault Tolerance

  • Persistent state management: grains store their state in databases or blob storage.
  • Automatic recovery: failed nodes restart transparently with no data loss.
  • Load balancing: dynamic distribution of work across multiple silos.

The solution was deployed in a Kubernetes cluster, ensuring high availability, fault tolerance, and seamless scaling.

8. Technical Insights

Aspect
Implementation

Grain Lifecycle Management

Dynamic activation and deactivation based on demand.

State Persistence

Durable storage for quick recovery and data consistency.

Error Propagation

Automatic error handling and graceful recovery per grain.

Performance Optimization

Load balancing, asynchronous processing, and dynamic resource allocation.

Kubernetes Clustering

Multi-node orchestration for deployment and scaling.

9. Results

  • Improved throughput: tens of thousands of events per second per node.
  • Reduced latency: faster system response times.
  • Higher stability: automatic error handling and recovery.
  • Simplified development: no locking or concurrency overhead.
  • Ready to scale: effortless horizontal expansion.

10. Conclusion

Using Microsoft Orleans allows us to build systems that are scalable, resilient, and efficient to maintain.
For our clients, it means less downtime, faster data processing, and growth without architectural constraints.

Richard Mueller
Founder, Restaurant Service Startup

It took the Managed Code team five months to build the application, as initially planned. The app that Managed Code developed runs smoothly, is highly rated by users, and helps the client generate a steady profit. The team was highly communicative, and internal stakeholders were particularly impressed with Managed Code's expertise.

(01)
Vitalii Drach
CEO, RD2

Their professionalism and commitment to delivering high-quality solutions made the collaboration highly successful.
Thanks to Managed Code's efforts, the AI assistant significantly improved the client's ability to serve new and existing clients, resulting in increased customer satisfaction and higher sales. The team was responsive, adaptable, and committed to excellence, ensuring a successful collaboration

(02)
Christopher Mecham
CTO, Legal Firm

We're impressed by their expertise and their client-focused work.
With an excellent workflow and transparent communication on Google Meet, email, and WhatsApp, Managed Code delivered just what the client wanted. They effortlessly focused on the client's needs by being client focused, as well.

(03)