[Perf] CPU regression caused by adblock unified catalog

[atuchin-m]

We have a slight CPU usage spike on some platforms (mac-m1, win11) in the revision range brave/brave-core@v1.64.35...v1.64.36

I believe it’s the adblock changes: brave/brave-core#21556
I’ve checked adblock work in the traces before/after, the structure is changed and the new number are bigger:

Before 890ms
After: 1085ms 

[antonok-edm]

As far as I'm aware, we have the following options for resolving this:

1. preload cached resources at launch followed by lazier list updates later
2. bundle lists (or a DAT) with browser builds
3. batch list updates together so they don't trigger update races

However:

• (3) will make things worse without (2), because any slow-loading lists would prevent shields from working for a long time at startup.
• (2) will not improve the measurements much without (1), because the list updates will still occur at startup.
• (1) by itself does not affect first launch, which is what the perf measurements above are for.

[ShivanKaul]

@atuchin-m is the spike in CPU usage on some platforms only on first launch?

[atuchin-m]

From the slack thread:
With 2 default extra lists (easy list cookies + mobile notifications) there is noticeable difference.
before (393ms)/after(287+306=593ms) [win-10, local Static build on 1.64.55 with/without reverted PR]

[atuchin-m]

Hm, I’ve enabled 10 extra lists.
556ms vs 2900ms 😱
More than 5x slower..
I’ve double checked this, but I still hope I’m doing something wrong with my measurement.
One of the different I see is that we start to call from_filter_set more often (checked in the debugger 6 vs 10+ times) and with large set(the first arg).
@antonok-edm could you add some counters and check how many rules we process before/after the change?

[kjozwiak]

The above requires 1.64.104 or higher for 1.64.x verification 👍 @brave/qa-team please take a look at https://bravesoftware.slack.com/archives/CHGKGMHDJ/p1710309453936669?thread_ts=1709255617.117759&cid=CHGKGMHDJ re: the plan for this one. Quick summary:

• @kjozwiak will run through Wait for adblock components to be fully initialized before loading engines brave-core#22082 (comment) once again on Win & Android but this time using a YT link/video rather than a website.
• On macOS & Linux, lets just quickly spot check and make sure that ads are being blocked right after a new install
  • using various websites: install Brave and then quickly paste/load a website within the URL and ensure ads are being blocked

Created #36749 which is also happening via 1.63.x

[stephendonner]

Verified PASSED using

Brave	1.64.104 Chromium: 123.0.6312.46 (Official Build) (x86_64) 
Revision	0ca3d372cf8aab96fafdd75f5c5c8d2012bc0cc6
OS	macOS Version 11.7.10 (Build 20G1427)

NOTE: this is still happening if you load certain sites quickly enough, as in #36749 (in which I commented)

Also reproduces in

Brave	1.63.174 Chromium: 122.0.6261.128 (Official Build) (x86_64) 
Revision	0d369d4e1dfee7bcea82774079dc8cd658746c98
OS	macOS Version 11.7.10 (Build 20G1427) 

so not a regression

YouTube

initial load	reload

AOL

initial load	reload

TMZ

SFGate

[kjozwiak]

Quick Note: For each of the cases mentioned below, the following was done in terms of STR/Cases:

• ensured that https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJ56MAGFPGM was already copied/ready to paste into URL bar
• ensured that all profiles have been removed (basically ensuring you're launching using a clean profile)
• launched Brave and then quickly pasted https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJ56MAGFPGM (as quickly as possible)

If an issue was found/ads initially being displayed, compared against 1.63.169 Chromium: 122.0.6261.111 and ensured that it wasn't any worse with the above PR. Basically ensuring it was also happening via the current release build.

Win 10 x64 verifications using a VM (slowing down VM & Network)

Verification PASSED on Win 10 x64 VM using the following build(s):

Brave | 1.64.104 Chromium: 123.0.6312.46 (Official Build) (64-bit)
-- | --
Revision | 0ca3d372cf8aab96fafdd75f5c5c8d2012bc0cc6
OS | Windows 10 Version 22H2 (Build 19045.3803)

Test Case #1 - Slowing down VM via RAM & CPU - No ads appearing on initial launch

• set the RAM of the current VM to 4GB
• assigned 2 CPU's to the VM from host (ensured that Dynamic Memory is also disabled)

Example	Example

RAMCPU.mp4

Test Case #2 - Slowing down VM via CPU, RAM & Network (200ms delay) - No ads appearing on initial launch

• set the RAM of the current VM to 4GB
• assigned 2 CPU's to the VM from host (ensured that Dynamic Memory is also disabled)
• using https://jagt.github.io/clumsy/index.html to slow down the VM network (using 200ms delay)

200msDelay.mp4

Test Case #3 - Slowing down VM via CPU, RAM & Network (300ms delay) - No ads appearing on initial launch

• set the RAM of the current VM to 4GB
• assigned 2 CPU's to the VM from host (ensured that Dynamic Memory is also disabled)
• using https://jagt.github.io/clumsy/index.html to slow down the VM network (using 300ms delay)

300msDelay.mp4

Win 11 x64 verifications using a real desktop/high-end HW specs

Brave | 1.64.104 Chromium: 123.0.6312.46 (Official Build) (64-bit)
-- | --
Revision | 0ca3d372cf8aab96fafdd75f5c5c8d2012bc0cc6
OS | Windows 11 Version 23H2 (Build 22631.3296)

Test Case #4 - Desktop with high-end HW specs - No ads appearing on initial launch

The following is the basic check re: loading a website right after Brave launches on a machine with high-end HW specs.

highHWSpecs.mp4

[kjozwiak]

Quick Note: For each of the cases mentioned below, the following was done in terms of STR/Cases:

• ensured that https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJ56MAGFPGM was already copied/ready to paste into URL bar
• ensured that all profiles have been removed (basically ensuring you're launching using a clean profile)
• launched Brave and then quickly pasted https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJ56MAGFPGM (as quickly as possible)

If an issue was found/ads initially being displayed, compared against 1.63.169 Chromium: 122.0.6261.111 and ensured that it wasn't any worse with the above PR. Basically ensuring it was also happening via the current release build.

Pixel 6 running Android 14 verifications throttling network

Verification PASSED on Pixel 6 running Android 14 using the following build(s):

Brave | 1.64.104 Chromium: 123.0.6312.46 (Official Build) (64-bit)
--- | --
Revision | 0ca3d372cf8aab96fafdd75f5c5c8d2012bc0cc6
OS  | Android 14; Build/AP21.240119.009; 34; REL

Some quick notes/caveats:

• I originally tried throttling the network to 128kbps, 256kbps & 1Mbps but it was impossible to load any website/content
• Because you need to run through several onboarding screens, the Android test is not as instant as the Desktop
  • the components/lists most likely downloaded/applied by the time you went through the onboarding screens

Test Case #1 - No network throttling (base user case) - No ads appearing on initial launch

Video of verification(s) --> https://youtu.be/xjJusg90i-I

Test Case #2 - Throttling network at 5MBps - No ads appearing on initial launch

Using the Network download rate limit feature via the Developer Option, I throttled the phones network to 5Mbps and then went through the same STR/Cases mentioned above re: loading a website right after the application has launched.

Video of verification(s) --> https://youtu.be/vRnLyxVrp6Q

Test Case #3 - Throttling network at 1MBps - No ads appearing on initial launch

Using the Network download rate limit feature via the Developer Option, I throttled the phones network to 1Mbps and then went through the same STR/Cases mentioned above re: loading a website right after the application has launched. Even though the website barely loaded, the YT video started without any ads.

Video of verification(s) --> https://youtu.be/-15kWVtJhfQ

Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra running Android 14 verifications throttling network

Verification PASSED on Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra running Android 14 using the following build(s):

Brave | 1.64.104 Chromium: 123.0.6312.46 (Official Build) (64-bit)
--- | ---
Revision | 0ca3d372cf8aab96fafdd75f5c5c8d2012bc0cc6
OS | Android 14; Build/UP1A.231005.007; 34; REL

Some quick notes/caveats:

• I originally tried throttling the network to 128kbps, 256kbps & 1Mbps but it was impossible to load any website/content
• Because you need to run through several onboarding screens, the Android test is not as instant as the Desktop
  • the components/lists most likely downloaded/applied by the time you went through the onboarding screens

Test Case #1 - No network throttling (base user case) - No ads appearing on initial launch

Screen_Recording_20240314_225232_Brave.mp4

Test Case #2 - Throttling network at 5MBps - No ads appearing on initial launch

Using the Network download rate limit feature via the Developer Option, I throttled the phones network to 5Mbps and then went through the same STR/Cases mentioned above re: loading a website right after the application has launched.

Screen_Recording_20240314_223932_Brave.mp4

Test Case #3 - Throttling network at 1MBps - No ads appearing on initial launch

Using the Network download rate limit feature via the Developer Option, I throttled the phones network to 1Mbps and then went through the same STR/Cases mentioned above re: loading a website right after the application has launched. Even though the website barely loaded, the YT video started without any ads.

Screen_Recording_20240314_224756_Brave.mp4

[MadhaviSeelam]

Verification PASSED using

Brave	1.64.104 Chromium: 123.0.6312.46 (Official Build) (64-bit) 
Revision	0ca3d372cf8aab96fafdd75f5c5c8d2012bc0cc6
OS	Linux

Encountered #36749

Verified on following sites as a basic check with loading a website right after Brave launches.
Conformed No ads appearing on initial launch

Youtube:

2024-03-15_12h49_56.mp4

Dailymotion:

2024-03-15_12h56_30.mp4

USA today:

2024-03-15_12h59_27.mp4