Maximum number of users taking a quiz simultaneously

Maximum number of users taking a quiz simultaneously

by Dominique Bauer -
Number of replies: 2
Picture of Documentation writers Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Plugin developers

I read, from https://docs.moodle.org/20/en/User_site_capacities (no page seems to exist for 3.0+) :

... The exact number of users depends on your hardware/software/network combination. Usually the amount of memory installed (RAM) is the deciding factor but a faster overall processor speed will also help in reducing waiting times for pages to load.

The general rule of thumb for a single server is that the approx max concurrent users = RAM (GB) * 50 and the approx max browsing users = Approx max concurrent users * 5. As an example, a university with 500 total computers on campus and 100 concurrent users at any time will need approx 2GB of RAM on the one server to support the number of concurrent users...

Our government has state wide exams. According to the above rule of thumb and with a 100 000 / 50 = 2 000 GB = 2 TB web server or bigger, could 100 000 users take exactly the same quiz simultaneously? Also, would the waiting time for feedback during the quiz be reasonable?

Best regards to all.

Average of ratings: -
In reply to Dominique Bauer

Re: Maximum number of users taking a quiz simultaneously

by Tim Hunt -
Picture of Core developers Picture of Documentation writers Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Peer reviewers Picture of Plugin developers

100,000 simultaneous users taking a quiz is a big ask. Don't just rely on rules of thumb. You really need to know what you are doing. Talk to some experts. E.g. Catalyst IT in New Zealand.

Average of ratings: Useful (2)
In reply to Tim Hunt

Re: Maximum number of users taking a quiz simultaneously

by Marcus Green -
Picture of Core developers Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Plugin developers Picture of Testers

I would say 100,000 simultaneous users taking a quiz is a massive task. Not just to ensure technical performance but to manage the "human factors" side of things. This discussion from a while ago contains information on how Catalyst have worked on some massive systems

https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=345901#p1395008


Average of ratings: Useful (1)