Performance Tuning and Optimization

Performance optimization begins with baseline measurement. Before enabling IAST, capture detailed performance metrics including response times, throughput, CPU usage, and memory consumption. Run identical tests with and without IAST to quantify overhead. Break down impact by operation type—some applications see minimal impact while others experience significant overhead on specific operations.

Selective instrumentation represents the primary optimization technique. Start with default configurations to understand overall impact, then selectively disable monitoring for performance-critical code paths that pose minimal security risk. Focus instrumentation on code handling external input, authentication, and data access. Avoid instrumenting tight loops, mathematical computations, or well-tested library code. This targeted approach maintains security coverage while minimizing overhead.

Advanced optimization techniques further reduce impact. Sampling strategies monitor every Nth request rather than all traffic, statistically maintaining coverage while reducing overhead. Asynchronous analysis offloads processing from application threads to separate processes. Adaptive instrumentation dynamically adjusts monitoring based on application load. These techniques enable IAST deployment even in performance-sensitive environments.