I'm looking for advice on improving a report generation feature I've implemented on our Node.js server for a work project. Right now, it's using Puppeteer to create PDFs from HTML templates with dynamic data. The reports are pretty complex, including charts, images, colored text, and a background.
The problem is that it's eating up a lot of resources. I've searched for alternative libraries, but couldn't find any that were both up-to-date and well-maintained.
Has anyone tackled a similar issue? What approaches or libraries would you recommend for generating rich, visually appealing PDFs more efficiently? I'm open to any suggestions that could help reduce the server load while still producing high-quality reports.
Have you considered offloading the PDF generation to a separate microservice? This approach could significantly reduce the load on your main Node.js server. You could set up a dedicated service using something like AWS Lambda or Google Cloud Functions, which can handle the resource-intensive task of PDF generation.
Another option is to implement a queue system. Instead of generating reports on-demand, queue the requests and process them asynchronously. This way, you can control the rate of PDF generation and prevent server overload during peak times.
Lastly, if you’re set on keeping it all in-house, try optimizing your HTML templates. Simplify complex layouts, reduce the number of images, and consider using SVGs for charts where possible. This can cut down on the processing time and resources needed for each report.
I’ve dealt with similar issues in my projects. One approach that worked well for me was switching to a more lightweight PDF generation library like PDFKit. It’s not as feature-rich as Puppeteer, but it’s significantly faster and less resource-intensive.
Another trick I’ve used is pre-rendering static parts of the report. If you have elements that don’t change often, you can generate them ahead of time and store them as templates. This way, you’re only dynamically generating the parts that actually need to be updated for each report.
Also, consider breaking down your reports into smaller chunks and generating them in parallel. This can speed up the process and distribute the load more evenly. Just be careful not to overload your server with too many concurrent operations.
Lastly, if you’re dealing with lots of data, try processing and aggregating it before passing it to the PDF generator. The less work the generator has to do, the faster and more efficient it’ll be.
have u tried caching? store frequently generated reports or parts of em. could save loads of processing time. also, maybe batch processing for bulk reports? run em during off-peak hrs to spread the load. just ideas, hope they help!