fix(distributed): aggregate prefix cache pressure

Broadcast forced-disturb events and successful scale-up resets so every frontend shares the same rolling autoscale signal. Deduplicate NATS echoes, expose an origin-only Prometheus counter, and document cluster behavior.

Closes #10083

Assisted-by: Codex:gpt-5

core/application/distributed.go

@@ -282,7 +282,7 @@ func initDistributed(cfg *config.ApplicationConfig, authDB *gorm.DB, configLoade
 		}
 		idx := prefixcache.NewIndex(prefixCfg)
 		prefixSync := prefixcache.NewSync(idx, natsClient)
-		pressure = prefixcache.NewPressure(prefixCfg.PressureWindow)
+		pressure = prefixcache.NewSyncedPressure(prefixCfg.PressureWindow, natsClient)
 		prefixProvider = prefixSync
 
 		// Invalidate the prefix-cache index whenever a replica row is removed.
@@ -318,6 +318,11 @@ func initDistributed(cfg *config.ApplicationConfig, authDB *gorm.DB, configLoade
 		}); err != nil {
 			return nil, fmt.Errorf("subscribing to %s: %w", messaging.SubjectPrefixCacheInvalidate, err)
 		}
+		if _, err := messaging.SubscribeJSON(natsClient, messaging.SubjectPrefixCachePressure, func(ev messaging.PrefixCachePressureEvent) {
+			pressure.ApplyPressure(ev, time.Now())
+		}); err != nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("subscribing to %s: %w", messaging.SubjectPrefixCachePressure, err)
+		}
 
 		// Background eviction: sweep idle entries on the app context. Stopped
 		// when the app context is cancelled (mirrors the reconciler loop which

core/services/messaging/subjects.go

@@ -478,6 +478,7 @@ const subjectSyncStatePrefix = "state."
 const (
 	SubjectPrefixCacheObserve    = "prefixcache.observe"
 	SubjectPrefixCacheInvalidate = "prefixcache.invalidate"
+	SubjectPrefixCachePressure   = "prefixcache.pressure"
 )
 
 // PrefixCacheObserveEvent announces that the replica (NodeID, Replica) served a
@@ -501,3 +502,12 @@ type PrefixCacheInvalidateEvent struct {
 	NodeID  string `json:"node_id"`
 	Replica int    `json:"replica"`
 }
+
+// PrefixCachePressureEvent announces one forced-disturb observed by a frontend.
+// ID lets the publisher ignore its own NATS echo and all frontends ignore
+// redelivery without inflating the autoscale signal.
+type PrefixCachePressureEvent struct {
+	ID    string `json:"id"`
+	Model string `json:"model"`
+	Reset bool   `json:"reset,omitempty"`
+}

core/services/messaging/subjects_prefixcache_test.go

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ var _ = Describe("PrefixCache subjects", func() {
 	It("exposes stable subject constants", func() {
 		Expect(messaging.SubjectPrefixCacheObserve).To(Equal("prefixcache.observe"))
 		Expect(messaging.SubjectPrefixCacheInvalidate).To(Equal("prefixcache.invalidate"))
+		Expect(messaging.SubjectPrefixCachePressure).To(Equal("prefixcache.pressure"))
 	})
 
 	It("carries a replica index on the observe event", func() {
@@ -24,4 +25,10 @@ var _ = Describe("PrefixCache subjects", func() {
 		one := messaging.PrefixCacheInvalidateEvent{Model: "m", NodeID: "A", Replica: 0}
 		Expect(one.Replica).To(Equal(0))
 	})
+
+	It("carries a unique pressure event identity", func() {
+		ev := messaging.PrefixCachePressureEvent{ID: "frontend-a:1", Model: "m"}
+		Expect(ev.ID).To(Equal("frontend-a:1"))
+		Expect(ev.Model).To(Equal("m"))
+	})
 })

core/services/nodes/prefixcache/metrics.go

@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+package prefixcache
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"sync"
+
+	"go.opentelemetry.io/otel"
+	"go.opentelemetry.io/otel/attribute"
+	"go.opentelemetry.io/otel/metric"
+)
+
+var (
+	pressureMetricsOnce sync.Once
+	pressureCounter     metric.Int64Counter
+)
+
+func recordPressureMetric(model string) {
+	pressureMetricsOnce.Do(func() {
+		counter, err := otel.Meter("github.com/mudler/LocalAI").Int64Counter(
+			"localai_prefix_cache_forced_disturb_total",
+			metric.WithDescription("Prefix-cache forced-disturb events originated by this frontend"),
+		)
+		if err == nil {
+			pressureCounter = counter
+		}
+	})
+	if pressureCounter != nil {
+		pressureCounter.Add(context.Background(), 1, metric.WithAttributes(attribute.String("model", model)))
+	}
+}

core/services/nodes/prefixcache/pressure.go

@@ -1,8 +1,15 @@
 package prefixcache
 
 import (
+	"crypto/rand"
+	"encoding/hex"
+	"fmt"
 	"sync"
+	"sync/atomic"
 	"time"
+
+	"github.com/mudler/LocalAI/core/services/messaging"
+	"github.com/mudler/xlog"
 )
 
 // Pressure is a concurrency-safe rolling per-model counter of forced-disturb
@@ -19,6 +26,10 @@ type Pressure struct {
 	mu     sync.Mutex
 	window time.Duration
 	events map[string][]time.Time
+	seen   map[string]time.Time
+	pub    publisher
+	origin string
+	seq    atomic.Uint64
 }
 
 // NewPressure creates a Pressure counter that remembers events for the given
@@ -27,9 +38,24 @@ func NewPressure(window time.Duration) *Pressure {
 	return &Pressure{
 		window: window,
 		events: make(map[string][]time.Time),
+		seen:   make(map[string]time.Time),
 	}
 }
 
+// NewSyncedPressure creates a Pressure counter that broadcasts locally
+// originated events so every frontend sees the same cluster-wide signal.
+func NewSyncedPressure(window time.Duration, pub publisher) *Pressure {
+	p := NewPressure(window)
+	p.pub = pub
+	var id [8]byte
+	if _, err := rand.Read(id[:]); err != nil {
+		p.origin = fmt.Sprintf("%d", time.Now().UnixNano())
+	} else {
+		p.origin = hex.EncodeToString(id[:])
+	}
+	return p
+}
+
 // pruneLocked drops entries older than cutoff, compacting in place. The cutoff
 // boundary itself is inclusive so an event exactly window-old still counts.
 // Callers must hold p.mu.
@@ -47,13 +73,50 @@ func pruneLocked(ts []time.Time, cutoff time.Time) []time.Time {
 // older than the window, so the per-model slice stays bounded regardless of how
 // often Count runs.
 func (p *Pressure) Record(model string, now time.Time) {
+	id := fmt.Sprintf("%s:%d", p.origin, p.seq.Add(1))
+	p.record(model, id, now)
+	recordPressureMetric(model)
+	if p.pub != nil {
+		ev := messaging.PrefixCachePressureEvent{ID: id, Model: model}
+		if err := p.pub.Publish(messaging.SubjectPrefixCachePressure, ev); err != nil {
+			xlog.Debug("prefixcache: pressure publish failed", "error", err)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func (p *Pressure) record(model, id string, now time.Time) {
 	p.mu.Lock()
 	defer p.mu.Unlock()
 	cutoff := now.Add(-p.window)
+	for eventID, recordedAt := range p.seen {
+		if recordedAt.Before(cutoff) {
+			delete(p.seen, eventID)
+		}
+	}
+	if id != "" {
+		if _, exists := p.seen[id]; exists {
+			return
+		}
+		p.seen[id] = now
+	}
 	kept := append(pruneLocked(p.events[model], cutoff), now)
 	p.events[model] = kept
 }
 
+// ApplyPressure records a pressure event received from NATS without
+// re-broadcasting it. Duplicate deliveries, including the publisher's own echo,
+// are ignored by event ID.
+func (p *Pressure) ApplyPressure(ev messaging.PrefixCachePressureEvent, now time.Time) {
+	if ev.ID == "" || ev.Model == "" {
+		return
+	}
+	if ev.Reset {
+		p.reset(ev.Model, ev.ID, now)
+		return
+	}
+	p.record(ev.Model, ev.ID, now)
+}
+
 // Count returns the number of records for the model within [now-window, now],
 // dropping any entries older than the window so the backing slice stays bounded.
 func (p *Pressure) Count(model string, now time.Time) int {
@@ -76,7 +139,22 @@ func (p *Pressure) Count(model string, now time.Time) int {
 // (a pressure-triggered scale-up) so a single burst does not trigger repeated
 // scale-ups across consecutive ticks.
 func (p *Pressure) Reset(model string) {
+	id := fmt.Sprintf("%s:%d", p.origin, p.seq.Add(1))
+	p.reset(model, id, time.Now())
+	if p.pub != nil {
+		ev := messaging.PrefixCachePressureEvent{ID: id, Model: model, Reset: true}
+		if err := p.pub.Publish(messaging.SubjectPrefixCachePressure, ev); err != nil {
+			xlog.Debug("prefixcache: pressure reset publish failed", "error", err)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func (p *Pressure) reset(model, id string, now time.Time) {
 	p.mu.Lock()
 	defer p.mu.Unlock()
+	if _, exists := p.seen[id]; exists {
+		return
+	}
+	p.seen[id] = now
 	delete(p.events, model)
 }

core/services/nodes/prefixcache/pressure_test.go

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package prefixcache_test
 import (
 	"time"
 
+	"github.com/mudler/LocalAI/core/services/messaging"
 	"github.com/mudler/LocalAI/core/services/nodes/prefixcache"
 	. "github.com/onsi/ginkgo/v2"
 	. "github.com/onsi/gomega"
@@ -95,4 +96,54 @@ var _ = Describe("Pressure counter", func() {
 		Expect(p.LenForTest("m")).To(Equal(1))
 		Expect(p.Count("m", t0.Add(198*time.Minute))).To(Equal(1))
 	})
+
+	It("broadcasts locally recorded pressure", func() {
+		pub := &fakePub{}
+		p := prefixcache.NewSyncedPressure(time.Minute, pub)
+
+		p.Record("m", t0)
+
+		Expect(p.Count("m", t0)).To(Equal(1))
+		Expect(pub.published).To(HaveLen(1))
+		ev := pub.published[0].(messaging.PrefixCachePressureEvent)
+		Expect(ev.ID).ToNot(BeEmpty())
+		Expect(ev.Model).To(Equal("m"))
+	})
+
+	It("aggregates a peer pressure event and ignores redelivery", func() {
+		p := prefixcache.NewSyncedPressure(time.Minute, &fakePub{})
+		ev := messaging.PrefixCachePressureEvent{ID: "frontend-a:1", Model: "m"}
+
+		p.ApplyPressure(ev, t0)
+		p.ApplyPressure(ev, t0.Add(time.Second))
+
+		Expect(p.Count("m", t0.Add(time.Second))).To(Equal(1))
+	})
+
+	It("does not double-count its own broadcast echo", func() {
+		pub := &fakePub{}
+		p := prefixcache.NewSyncedPressure(time.Minute, pub)
+		p.Record("m", t0)
+		ev := pub.published[0].(messaging.PrefixCachePressureEvent)
+
+		p.ApplyPressure(ev, t0.Add(time.Second))
+
+		Expect(p.Count("m", t0.Add(time.Second))).To(Equal(1))
+	})
+
+	It("broadcasts and applies a pressure reset after scaling", func() {
+		pub := &fakePub{}
+		origin := prefixcache.NewSyncedPressure(time.Minute, pub)
+		peer := prefixcache.NewSyncedPressure(time.Minute, &fakePub{})
+		origin.Record("m", t0)
+		record := pub.published[0].(messaging.PrefixCachePressureEvent)
+		peer.ApplyPressure(record, t0)
+
+		origin.Reset("m")
+		reset := pub.published[1].(messaging.PrefixCachePressureEvent)
+		peer.ApplyPressure(reset, t0.Add(time.Second))
+
+		Expect(reset.Reset).To(BeTrue())
+		Expect(peer.Count("m", t0.Add(time.Second))).To(Equal(0))
+	})
 })

docs/content/features/distributed-mode.md

@@ -946,7 +946,9 @@ Notes:
 
 ## Roadmap: Routing and Caching Enhancements
 
-The scheduling algorithm above is load-based (least in-flight, then least-recently-used). Work is underway to make routing **prefix-cache-aware**: bias each request toward the replica that already holds the relevant KV/prefix cache (multi-turn conversations and shared system prompts), so backends reuse cache instead of recomputing it. The first step is a router-side radix tree of prompt-prefix hashes mapped to nodes, with longest-prefix match, a load guard that preserves round-robin behavior under imbalance, and NATS sync across frontends. It is purely a routing-layer hint (no backend changes) and never routes worse than today's round-robin.
+The scheduling algorithm supports **prefix-cache-aware** routing: bias each request toward the replica that already holds the relevant KV/prefix cache (multi-turn conversations and shared system prompts), so backends reuse cache instead of recomputing it. A router-side radix tree maps prompt-prefix hashes to nodes, with longest-prefix match, a load guard that preserves round-robin behavior under imbalance, and NATS sync across frontends. It is purely a routing-layer hint (no backend changes) and never routes worse than round-robin.
+
+When the load guard must route away from a warm replica, the frontend emits a forced-disturb event. These events and the reset sent after a successful pressure-triggered scale-up are broadcast over NATS, so the rolling autoscale threshold is cluster-wide rather than per frontend. The Prometheus counter `localai_prefix_cache_forced_disturb_total{model="..."}` records events at their originating frontend; sum it across frontend replicas to inspect cluster pressure without counting the NATS copies.
 
 Further enhancements, surfaced from a survey of SGLang, vLLM production-stack, Ray Serve, llm-d, AIBrix, and NVIDIA Dynamo, are tracked under the routing roadmap epic ([#10063](https://github.com/mudler/LocalAI/issues/10063)):
 

pkg/natsauth/permissions_coverage_test.go

@@ -115,6 +115,7 @@ var _ = Describe("Documented NATS service-user permissions", func() {
 	frontendPublishes := []string{
 		messaging.SubjectPrefixCacheObserve,
 		messaging.SubjectPrefixCacheInvalidate,
+		messaging.SubjectPrefixCachePressure,
 		messaging.SubjectNodeBackendInstall("node-1"),
 		messaging.SubjectGalleryProgress("op-1"),
 	}