How Roblox Engineered a Massive Tech Stack Transformation
In 2017, Roblox faced a critical challenge: its rapidly growing gaming platform was running on outdated infrastructure. With less than 99% uptime and reliance on a single data center, the company needed a complete technological overhaul. Enter Dan Williams, an infrastructure expert with experience at Facebook and Dropbox, who spearheaded Roblox’s journey to a modern, cloud-native architecture.
The State of Roblox’s Infrastructure in 2017
- Aging Systems: Single Chicago data center with bare metal servers
- Third-Party Dependencies: Heavy reliance on AWS and other providers
- Poor Uptime: Just “two nines” (99%) reliability vs. industry-standard “five nines” (99.999%)
- Growing Pains: 64 million monthly active users (MAUs) straining legacy systems
Bringing in Infrastructure Expertise
Dan Williams joined as VP of Corporate and Production Engineering with a clear mandate: transform Roblox’s technology foundation. His prior experience included:
- Scaling Facebook’s infrastructure during its hypergrowth phase
- Leading Dropbox’s migration off AWS (moving 500+ petabytes of data)
“I spent my first two months diagnosing our systemic issues,” Williams recalled. “Frequent ‘site events’ and performance bottlenecks were crippling our user experience.”
The Transformation Roadmap
Williams presented the board with an ambitious plan:
- Reduce Third-Party Dependencies: Build proprietary data centers
- Modernize Architecture: Shift to containerized Linux environments
- Global Edge Network: Deploy worldwide points-of-presence (PoPs)
- Microservices Transition: Break monolithic code into modular services
Phase 1: Building the Foundation (2017-2018)
- Team Growth: Expanded from 12 to 50 infrastructure engineers
- Talent Acquisition: Hired experts from Netflix, Facebook, Uber, and Dropbox
- Edge Network: Launched 10 global PoPs for reduced latency
- Virtualization: Migrated 50% of servers to containerized Linux
Results: Uptime improved to 99.5%; MAUs grew to 80 million
Phase 2: Full Infrastructure Control (2018-2020)
- Additional PoPs: Expanded to 19 global edge nodes
- Complete Containerization: 100% of game delivery containerized
- Ownership: Gained 100% control of server capacity
Key Technical Strategies
Williams emphasized three critical levers for infrastructure transformation:
- Reliability (Priority #1)
- Performance (Priority #2)
- Cost Optimization (Outcome of 1 & 2)
“Cost should never be the first consideration,” Williams noted. “Investing in reliability and performance ultimately drives efficiency.”
The Microservices Challenge
While hardware improvements progressed quickly, the architectural shift proved more complex:
- Current State: ~10% migrated to microservices
- Transition Strategy: Created unified deployment pipeline for both architectures
- Timeline: Full migration expected within 2 years
“The last 10% will be toughest,” Williams admitted. “But we’re committed to completing this transformation.”
Measurable Business Impact
The infrastructure overhaul delivered tangible results:
- Uptime: Improved from <99% to 99.95% (four nines)
- User Growth: MAUs skyrocketed 130% (64M to 150M+)
- Operational Control: Full ownership of server capacity
Lessons for Tech Leaders
Roblox’s transformation offers key insights for scaling platforms:
- Own Your Infrastructure: Reduces bottlenecks and improves reliability
- Invest in Edge Networks: Critical for latency-sensitive applications
- Balance Transition: Maintain legacy systems during architectural shifts
- Prioritize Reliability: User trust directly impacts growth
As Roblox continues its microservices migration, the company serves as a case study in large-scale infrastructure modernization—proving that even wildly successful platforms must continually evolve their technical foundations.
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