Report Skeleton + Result for homogeneous network (tendermint#291)

* Report Skeleton

* First batch of results

* All metrics in

* Develop introductory sections

* Polishing the text

docs/qa/v034/README.md

@@ -276,3 +276,292 @@ transactions, via RPC, from the load runner process.
 Date: 2022-10-10
 
 Version: a28c987f5a604ff66b515dd415270063e6fb069d
+
+# v0.34.x - From Tendermint Core to CometBFT
+
+This section reports on the QA process we followed before releasing the first `v0.34.x` version
+from our CometBFT repository.
+
+The changes with respect to the last version of `v0.34.x`
+(namely `v0.34.26`, released from the Informal Systems' Tendermint Core fork)
+are minimal, and focus on rebranding Tendermint Core to CometBFT at places
+where there is no substantial risk of breaking compatibility
+with earlier Tendermint Core versions of `v0.34.x`.
+
+Indeed, CometBFT versions of `v0.34.x` (`v0.34.27` and subsequent) should fulfill
+the following compatibility-related requirements.
+
+* Operators can easily upgrade a `v0.34.x` version of Tendermint Core to CometBFT.
+* Upgrades from Tendermint Core to CometBFT can be uncoordinated for versions of the `v0.34.x` branch.
+* Nodes running CometBFT must be interoperable with those running Tendermint Core in the same chain,
+  as long as all are running a `v0.34.x` version.
+
+These QA tests focus on the third bullet, whereas the first two bullets are tested using our _e2e tests_.
+
+It would be prohibitively time consuming to test mixed networks of all combinations of existing `v0.34.x`
+versions, combined with the CometBFT release candidate under test.
+Therefore our testing focuses on the last Tendermint Core version (`v0.34.26`) and the CometBFT release
+candidate under test.
+
+We only run the _200 node test_, and not the _rotating node test_.
+Since the changes to the system's logic are minimal, we are interested in these performance requirements:
+
+* The CometBFT release candidate under test performs similarly to Tendermint Core
+    * when used at scale (i.e., in a large network of CometBFT nodes)
+    * when used at scale in a mixed network (i.e., some nodes are running CometBFT
+      and others are running an older Tendermint Core version)
+
+Therefore we carry out a complete run of the _200-node test_ on the following networks:
+
+* A homogeneous 200-node testnet, where all nodes are running the CometBFT release candidate under test.
+* A mixed network where 1/3 of the nodes are running the CometBFT release candidate under test,
+  and the rest are running Tendermint Core `v0.34.26`.
+* A mixed network where 2/3 of the nodes are running the CometBFT release candidate under test,
+  and the rest are running Tendermint Core `v0.34.26`.
+
+## 200 Node Testnet
+
+TODO: Get rid of this level of subsection (as there is no rotating node test).
+      Not doing it now to save merge conflicts to Lásaro and Jasmina
+
+### Saturation Point
+
+As the CometBFT release candidate under test has minimal changes
+with respect to Tendermint Core `v0.34.26`, other than the rebranding changes,
+we can confidently reuse the results from the `v0.34.x` baseline test regarding
+the [saturation point](#finding-the-saturation-point).
+
+Therefore, we will simply use a load of `r=200,c=2`
+(see the explanation [here](#finding-the-saturation-point)).
+
+### Examining latencies
+
+In this section and the remaining, we provide the results of the _200 node test_.
+Each section is divided into three parts,
+reporting on the homogeneous network (all CometBFT nodes),
+mixed network with 1/3 of Tendermint Core nodes,
+and mixed network with 2/3 of Tendermint Core nodes.
+
+On each of the three networks, the experiment consists of 4 or 5 runs, with the goal
+to make sure the data obtained is consistent.
+On each of the networks, we pick only one representative run,
+and present the results for that run.
+
+#### CometBFT Homogeneous network
+
+![latencies](./img/v034_200node_homog_latencies.png)
+
+TODO: Explain
+
+
+#### 1/3 Tendermint Core - 2/3 CometBFT
+
+TODO
+
+#### 2/3 Tendermint Core - 1/3 CometBFT
+
+TODO
+
+#### Prometheus Metrics
+
+This section reports on the key prometheus metrics extracted from the experiments.
+
+* For the CometBFT homogeneous network, we choose to present the third run
+  (see the latencies section above), as its latency date is representative, and
+  it contains the maximum latency of all runs (worst case scenario).
+* For the mixed network with 1/3 of nodes running Tendermint Core `v0.34.26`
+  and 2/3 running CometBFT.
+  TODO
+* For the mixed network with 2/3 of nodes running Tendermint Core `v0.34.26`
+  and 213 running CometBFT.
+  TODO
+
+##### Mempool Size
+
+For reference, the plots below correspond to the baseline results.
+The first shows the evolution over time of the cumulative number of transactions
+inside all full nodes' mempools at a given time.
+
+![mempool-cumulative](./img/v034_r200c2_mempool_size.png)
+
+The second one shows evolution of the average over all full nodes, which oscillates between 1500 and 2000
+outstanding transactions.
+
+![mempool-avg](./img/v034_r200c2_mempool_size_avg.png)
+
+###### CometBFT Homogeneous network
+
+The mempool size was as stable at all full nodes as in the baseline.
+These are the corresponding plots for the homogeneous network test.
+
+![mempool-cumulative-homogeneous](./img/v034_homog_mempool_size.png)
+
+![mempool-avg-homogeneous](./img/v034_homog_mempool_size_avg.png)
+
+###### 1/3 Tendermint Core - 2/3 CometBFT
+
+TODO
+
+###### 2/3 Tendermint Core - 1/3 CometBFT
+
+TODO
+
+##### Peers
+
+The plot below corresponds to the baseline results, for reference.
+It shows the stability of peers throughout the experiment.
+Seed nodes typically have a higher number of peers.
+The fact that non-seed nodes reach more than 50 peers is due to
+[#9548](https://github.com/tendermint/tendermint/issues/9548).
+
+![peers](./img/v034_r200c2_peers.png)
+
+###### CometBFT Homogeneous network
+
+The plot below shows the result for the homogeneous network.
+It is very similar to the baseline. The only difference being that
+the seed nodes seem to loose peers in the middle of the experiment.
+However this cannot be attributed to the differences in the code,
+which are mainly rebranding.
+
+![peers-homogeneous](./img/v034_homog_peers.png)
+
+###### 1/3 Tendermint Core - 2/3 CometBFT
+
+TODO
+
+###### 2/3 Tendermint Core - 1/3 CometBFT
+
+TODO
+
+##### Consensus Rounds per Height
+
+For reference, this is the baseline plot.
+
+![rounds](./img/v034_r200c2_rounds.png)
+
+
+###### CometBFT Homogeneous network
+
+Most heights took just one round, some nodes needed to advance to round 1 at various moments,
+and a few nodes even needed to advance to the third round at one point.
+This coincides with the time at which we observed the biggest peak in mempool size
+on the corresponding plot, shown above.
+
+![rounds-homogeneous](./img/v034_homog_rounds.png)
+
+###### 1/3 Tendermint Core - 2/3 CometBFT
+
+TODO
+
+###### 2/3 Tendermint Core - 1/3 CometBFT
+
+TODO
+
+##### Blocks Produced per Minute, Transactions Processed per Minute
+
+The blocks produced per minute are the slope of this plot, which corresponds to the baseline results.
+
+![heights](./img/v034_r200c2_heights.png)
+
+The transactions processed per minute are the slope of this plot,
+which, again, corresponds to the baseline results.
+
+![total-txs](./img/v034_r200c2_total-txs.png)
+
+###### CometBFT Homogeneous network
+
+![heights-homogeneous](./img/v034_homog_heights.png)
+
+Over a period of 2 minutes and 4 seconds, the height goes from 251 to 295.
+This results in an average of 21.3 blocks produced per minute.
+
+![total-txs-homogeneous](./img/v034_homog_total-txs.png)
+
+Over a period of 1 minute and 45 seconds (adjusted time window),
+the total goes from 70201 to 104537 transactions,
+resulting in 19620 transactions per minute.
+This is similar to the baseline.
+
+###### 1/3 Tendermint Core - 2/3 CometBFT
+
+TODO
+
+###### 2/3 Tendermint Core - 1/3 CometBFT
+
+TODO
+
+##### Memory Resident Set Size
+
+Reference plot for Resident Set Size (RSS) of all monitored processes.
+
+![rss](./img/v034_r200c2_rss.png)
+
+And this is the baseline average plot.
+
+![rss-avg](./img/v034_r200c2_rss_avg.png)
+
+###### CometBFT Homogeneous network
+
+This is the plot for the homogeneous network, which slightly more stable than the baseline over
+the time of the experiment.
+
+![rss-homogeneous](./img/v034_homog_rss.png)
+
+And this is the average plot. It oscillates around 560 MiB, which is noticeably lower than the baseline.
+
+![rss-avg-homogeneous](./img/v034_homog_rss_avg.png)
+
+###### 1/3 Tendermint Core - 2/3 CometBFT
+
+TODO
+
+###### 2/3 Tendermint Core - 1/3 CometBFT
+
+TODO
+
+##### CPU utilization
+
+This is the baseline `load1` plot, for reference.
+
+![load1](./img/v034_r200c2_load1.png)
+
+###### CometBFT Homogeneous network
+
+![load1-homogeneous](./img/v034_homog_load1.png)
+
+Similarly to the baseline, it is contained in most cases below 5.
+
+###### 1/3 Tendermint Core - 2/3 CometBFT
+
+TODO
+
+###### 2/3 Tendermint Core - 1/3 CometBFT
+
+TODO
+
+### Test Results
+
+#### CometBFT Homogeneous network
+
+**Result: PASS**
+
+Date: 2023-02-08
+
+Version: 3b783434f26b0e87994e6a77c5411927aad9ce3f
+
+#### 1/3 Tendermint Core - 2/3 CometBFT
+
+**Result: ????**
+
+Date: 2023-02-08
+
+Version: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
+
+#### 2/3 Tendermint Core - 1/3 CometBFT
+
+**Result: ????**
+
+Date: 2023-02-08
+
+Version: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx