✨ Implement dead-letter queue (DLQ) functionality for handling permanent failures in message processing. Update configuration to enable DLQ and specify the subject for routing failed messages. Enhance observability by adding metrics for message handling, retries, and database operations. Introduce structured logging for better traceability of message processing events.
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## Reliability and Fault Handling
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This document summarises how the service handles failures, provides resilience, and avoids data loss or duplication.
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### Dead-Letter Queue (DLQ) and Poison Messages
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Configuration is defined under `dlq`:
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```toml
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[dlq]
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enabled = true
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subject = "caatsm.dlq"
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```
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- When `dlq.enabled` is `true` and `dlq.subject` is non-empty, **permanent** failures are routed to the DLQ subject.
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- A permanent failure is indicated by wrapping an error with `app.Permanent` and is treated as a **poison message**.
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Behaviour (JetStream mode):
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1. The NATS consumer calls `processor.Handle`.
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2. If an error is returned and `app.IsPermanent(err)` is true:
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- The original NATS message is copied into a DLQ payload with metadata:
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- `transport_msg_id` (NATS message ID)
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- `subject`, `stream`, `consumer`
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- `nats_sequence`, `deliveries`
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- `error` (stringified cause)
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- `received_at` (DLQ event time)
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- `body` (raw message body)
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- The payload is published to `dlq.subject` using JetStream.
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- The original message is **ACKed**, so it will not be redelivered.
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The DLQ subject should be consumed by an offline repair/analysis tool or operational dashboard that can:
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- Inspect poison messages.
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- Decide whether to fix and re-publish, or discard with justification.
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- Track DLQ volume over time for alerting.
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### Transient Errors and Backoff
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Transient errors (not marked permanent) result in:
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- Negative acknowledgements with delay (`NakWithDelay`) according to `nats.consumer_rules.backoff`.
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- A retry streak counter inside the consumer:
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- Each transient error increases `consecutiveProcessErrors`.
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- After 10 or more consecutive errors, the consumer applies an additional **sleep**:
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- `backoff = min(consecutive_errors * 100ms, 5s)`.
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- A warning log with the sleep duration and error count is emitted.
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This combination provides **backpressure** when downstream systems (especially the DB) are in trouble, slowing down consumption instead of aggressively retrying.
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### Persistence and Idempotency
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The primary persistence path is `Repository.InsertOne` into `aviation.telegrams`. To avoid applying the same business event multiple times, a **minimal idempotency check** is implemented:
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- If both `message_id` and `date_time` are non-empty:
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- `InsertOne` first calls `messageExists(message_id, date_time)`.
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- If a row already exists, the insert is **skipped** and an informational log is written.
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- Otherwise, the insert proceeds.
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This makes repeated delivery of the same telegram (same `message_id`/`date_time`) safe from a business perspective, even if JetStream redelivers messages or upstream replays.
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For higher guarantees in production environments, you may:
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- Add a unique index on `(message_id, date_time)` at the DB level, and treat any conflict as a duplicate.
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- Extend the idempotency key with additional fields (e.g. originator, category) if required by the business model.
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### DB Degradation and Backpressure
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Database write failures in `Repository.InsertOne` and related methods are treated as **transient** by default:
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- Errors propagate back to the NATS consumer.
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- The consumer issues a NAK (with delay) and increases the transient error counter.
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- When errors persist, the added sleep in the consumer reduces message throughput and gives the DB time to recover.
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DB health also feeds into readiness:
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- The monitoring server hits `pgxpool.Pool.Ping` on `/readyz` and `/healthz`.
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- If the DB is not reachable, the endpoints return `503`, signalling to orchestrators that this instance should be drained from traffic.
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Together, this yields:
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- **Backpressure** via reduced consumption rate and NATS-level backoff.
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- **Degradation signalling** via health probes for external systems to act upon.
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### Retry and Max Deliver
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JetStream consumer configuration (via `nats.consumer_rules`) controls:
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- `max_deliver` – maximum number of redeliveries before JetStream gives up.
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- `ack_wait` – how long JetStream waits for an ACK before considering the message pending.
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- `backoff` – per-attempt delays for `NakWithDelay`.
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Recommended pattern:
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- Keep `max_deliver` modest (e.g. 5).
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- Use a backoff array such as `[5s, 30s, 2m]`.
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- Treat messages that still fail after `max_deliver` as candidates for DLQ, via the permanent error/poison message path where applicable.
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### Alerts and Dashboards
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Prometheus alert suggestions:
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- High failure rate:
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- `rate(caatsm_messages_total{result!="ok"}[5m])` above a small threshold.
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- `rate(caatsm_retries_total[5m])` above a threshold.
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- DLQ growth:
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- Alerts on DLQ stream message count, using NATS/JetStream exporter metrics.
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- Readiness / health:
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- Alert when `/readyz` fails or when DB/NATS checks start failing consistently.
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Dashboards should combine:
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- Message rates, error rates, and DLQ rates.
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- NATS consumer statistics (pending, redelivered, ack_pending).
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- DB health indicators (latency, error counts, connection usage).
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