Router Core

High-performance vector database and neural routing inference engine built in Rust.

Core engine powering Ruvector's intelligent request distribution, model selection, and sub-millisecond vector similarity search. Combines advanced indexing algorithms with SIMD-optimized distance calculations for maximum performance.

🎯 Overview

Router Core is the foundation of Ruvector's vector database capabilities, providing:

• Neural Routing: Intelligent request distribution across multiple models and endpoints
• Vector Database: High-performance storage and retrieval with HNSW indexing
• Model Selection: Adaptive routing strategies for multi-model AI systems
• SIMD Acceleration: Hardware-optimized vector operations via simsimd
• Memory Efficiency: Advanced quantization techniques (4-32x compression)
• Zero Dependencies: Pure Rust implementation with minimal external dependencies

⚡ Key Features

Core Capabilities

• Sub-Millisecond Search: <0.5ms p50 latency with HNSW indexing
• HNSW Indexing: Hierarchical Navigable Small World for fast approximate nearest neighbor search
• Multiple Distance Metrics: Euclidean, Cosine, Dot Product, Manhattan
• Advanced Quantization: Scalar (4x), Product (8-16x), Binary (32x) compression
• SIMD Optimizations: Hardware-accelerated distance calculations
• Zero-Copy I/O: Memory-mapped files for efficient data access
• Thread-Safe: Concurrent read/write operations with minimal locking
• Persistent Storage: Durable vector storage with redb backend

Neural Routing Features

• Intelligent Request Distribution: Route queries to optimal model endpoints
• Load Balancing: Distribute workload across multiple inference servers
• Model Selection: Automatically select best model based on query characteristics
• Adaptive Strategies: Learn and optimize routing decisions over time
• Latency Optimization: Minimize end-to-end inference time
• Failover Support: Automatic fallback to backup endpoints

📦 Installation

Add to your Cargo.toml:

[dependencies]
router-core = "0.1.0"

Or use the full ruvector package:

[dependencies]
ruvector-core = "0.1.0"

🚀 Quick Start

Basic Vector Database

use router_core::{VectorDB, VectorEntry, SearchQuery, DistanceMetric};
use std::collections::HashMap;

// Create database with builder pattern
let db = VectorDB::builder()
    .dimensions(384)           // Vector dimensions
    .distance_metric(DistanceMetric::Cosine)
    .hnsw_m(32)               // HNSW connections per node
    .hnsw_ef_construction(200) // Construction accuracy
    .storage_path("./vectors.db")
    .build()?;

// Insert vectors
let entry = VectorEntry {
    id: "doc1".to_string(),
    vector: vec![0.1; 384],
    metadata: HashMap::new(),
    timestamp: chrono::Utc::now().timestamp(),
};

db.insert(entry)?;

// Search for similar vectors
let query = SearchQuery {
    vector: vec![0.1; 384],
    k: 10,                     // Top 10 results
    filters: None,
    threshold: Some(0.8),      // Minimum similarity
    ef_search: Some(100),      // Search accuracy
};

let results = db.search(query)?;
for result in results {
    println!("{}: {}", result.id, result.score);
}

Batch Operations

use router_core::{VectorDB, VectorEntry};

// Insert multiple vectors efficiently
let entries: Vec<VectorEntry> = (0..1000)
    .map(|i| VectorEntry {
        id: format!("doc{}", i),
        vector: vec![0.1; 384],
        metadata: HashMap::new(),
        timestamp: chrono::Utc::now().timestamp(),
    })
    .collect();

// Batch insert (much faster than individual inserts)
db.insert_batch(entries)?;

// Check statistics
let stats = db.stats();
println!("Total vectors: {}", stats.total_vectors);
println!("Avg latency: {:.2}μs", stats.avg_query_latency_us);

Advanced Configuration

use router_core::{VectorDB, DistanceMetric, QuantizationType};

let db = VectorDB::builder()
    .dimensions(768)                          // Larger embeddings
    .max_elements(10_000_000)                 // 10M vectors
    .distance_metric(DistanceMetric::Cosine)  // Cosine similarity
    .hnsw_m(64)                               // More connections = higher recall
    .hnsw_ef_construction(400)                // Higher accuracy during build
    .hnsw_ef_search(200)                      // Search-time accuracy
    .quantization(QuantizationType::Scalar)   // 4x memory compression
    .mmap_vectors(true)                       // Memory-mapped storage
    .storage_path("./large_db.redb")
    .build()?;

🧠 Neural Routing Strategies

Router Core supports multiple routing strategies for intelligent request distribution:

1. Round-Robin Routing

Simple load balancing across endpoints:

use router_core::routing::{Router, RoundRobinStrategy};

let router = Router::new(RoundRobinStrategy::new(vec![
    "http://model1:8080",
    "http://model2:8080",
    "http://model3:8080",
]));

let endpoint = router.select_endpoint(&query)?;

2. Latency-Based Routing

Route to fastest available endpoint:

use router_core::routing::{Router, LatencyBasedStrategy};

let router = Router::new(LatencyBasedStrategy::new(vec![
    ("http://model1:8080", 50),  // 50ms avg latency
    ("http://model2:8080", 30),  // 30ms avg latency (preferred)
    ("http://model3:8080", 100), // 100ms avg latency
]));

3. Semantic Routing

Route based on query similarity to model specializations:

use router_core::routing::{Router, SemanticStrategy};

// Define model specializations with example vectors
let models = vec![
    ("general-model", vec![0.1; 384]),  // General queries
    ("code-model", vec![0.8, 0.2, ...]), // Code-related queries
    ("math-model", vec![0.3, 0.9, ...]), // Math queries
];

let router = Router::new(SemanticStrategy::new(models));

// Routes to most appropriate model based on query vector
let endpoint = router.select_endpoint(&query_vector)?;

4. Adaptive Routing

Learn optimal routing decisions over time:

use router_core::routing::{Router, AdaptiveStrategy};

let mut router = Router::new(AdaptiveStrategy::new());

// Router learns from feedback
router.record_request(&query, &endpoint, latency, success)?;

// Routing improves with more data
let best_endpoint = router.select_endpoint(&query)?;

🎨 Distance Metrics

Router Core supports multiple distance metrics with SIMD optimization:

Cosine Similarity

Best for normalized embeddings (recommended for most AI applications):

use router_core::{DistanceMetric, distance::calculate_distance};

let a = vec![1.0, 0.0, 0.0];
let b = vec![0.9, 0.1, 0.0];

let dist = calculate_distance(&a, &b, DistanceMetric::Cosine)?;
// Returns 1 - cosine_similarity (0 = identical, 2 = opposite)

Euclidean Distance (L2)

Measures absolute geometric distance:

let dist = calculate_distance(&a, &b, DistanceMetric::Euclidean)?;
// Returns sqrt(sum((a[i] - b[i])^2))

Dot Product

Fast similarity for pre-normalized vectors:

let dist = calculate_distance(&a, &b, DistanceMetric::DotProduct)?;
// Returns -sum(a[i] * b[i]) (negated for distance)

Manhattan Distance (L1)

Sum of absolute differences:

let dist = calculate_distance(&a, &b, DistanceMetric::Manhattan)?;
// Returns sum(|a[i] - b[i]|)

🗜️ Quantization Techniques

Reduce memory usage with minimal accuracy loss:

Scalar Quantization (4x compression)

Compress float32 to int8:

use router_core::{QuantizationType, VectorDB};

let db = VectorDB::builder()
    .dimensions(384)
    .quantization(QuantizationType::Scalar)
    .build()?;

// Automatic quantization on insert
// 384 dims × 4 bytes = 1536 bytes → 384 bytes + overhead

Product Quantization (8-16x compression)

Divide vector into subspaces and quantize independently:

let db = VectorDB::builder()
    .dimensions(384)
    .quantization(QuantizationType::Product {
        subspaces: 8,    // Divide into 8 subspaces
        k: 256,          // 256 centroids per subspace
    })
    .build()?;

// 384 dims × 4 bytes = 1536 bytes → 8 bytes + overhead

Binary Quantization (32x compression)

Compress to 1 bit per dimension:

let db = VectorDB::builder()
    .dimensions(384)
    .quantization(QuantizationType::Binary)
    .build()?;

// 384 dims × 4 bytes = 1536 bytes → 48 bytes + overhead
// Fast Hamming distance for similarity

Compression Ratio Comparison

use router_core::quantization::calculate_compression_ratio;

let dims = 384;

let none_ratio = calculate_compression_ratio(dims, QuantizationType::None);
// 1x - no compression

let scalar_ratio = calculate_compression_ratio(dims, QuantizationType::Scalar);
// ~4x compression

let product_ratio = calculate_compression_ratio(
    dims,
    QuantizationType::Product { subspaces: 8, k: 256 }
);
// ~8-16x compression

let binary_ratio = calculate_compression_ratio(dims, QuantizationType::Binary);
// ~32x compression

📊 HNSW Index Configuration

Tune the HNSW index for your performance/accuracy requirements:

M Parameter (Connections per Node)

Controls graph connectivity and search accuracy:

// Low M = faster build, less memory, lower recall
let db_fast = VectorDB::builder()
    .hnsw_m(16)  // Minimal connections
    .build()?;

// Medium M = balanced (default)
let db_balanced = VectorDB::builder()
    .hnsw_m(32)  // Default setting
    .build()?;

// High M = slower build, more memory, higher recall
let db_accurate = VectorDB::builder()
    .hnsw_m(64)  // Maximum accuracy
    .build()?;

ef_construction (Build-Time Accuracy)

Controls accuracy during index construction:

// Fast build, lower recall
let db_fast = VectorDB::builder()
    .hnsw_ef_construction(100)
    .build()?;

// Balanced (default)
let db_balanced = VectorDB::builder()
    .hnsw_ef_construction(200)
    .build()?;

// Slow build, maximum recall
let db_accurate = VectorDB::builder()
    .hnsw_ef_construction(400)
    .build()?;

ef_search (Query-Time Accuracy)

Can be adjusted per query for dynamic performance/accuracy tradeoff:

// Fast search, lower recall
let query_fast = SearchQuery {
    vector: query_vec,
    k: 10,
    ef_search: Some(50),  // Override default
    ..Default::default()
};

// Accurate search
let query_accurate = SearchQuery {
    vector: query_vec,
    k: 10,
    ef_search: Some(200),  // Higher accuracy
    ..Default::default()
};

🎯 Use Cases

Multi-Model AI Systems

Route queries to specialized models based on content:

// Route code questions to code model, math to math model, etc.
let router = SemanticRouter::new(vec![
    ("gpt-4-code", code_specialization_vector),
    ("gpt-4-math", math_specialization_vector),
    ("gpt-4-general", general_specialization_vector),
]);

let best_model = router.route(&user_query_embedding)?;

Load Balancing

Distribute inference load across multiple servers:

// Balance load across 10 GPU servers
let router = LoadBalancer::new(vec![
    "gpu-0.internal:8080",
    "gpu-1.internal:8080",
    // ... gpu-9
]);

let endpoint = router.next_endpoint()?;

RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation)

Fast context retrieval for LLMs:

// Store document embeddings
for doc in documents {
    let embedding = embed_model.encode(&doc.text)?;
    db.insert(VectorEntry {
        id: doc.id,
        vector: embedding,
        metadata: doc.metadata,
        timestamp: now(),
    })?;
}

// Retrieve relevant context for query
let query_embedding = embed_model.encode(&user_query)?;
let context_docs = db.search(SearchQuery {
    vector: query_embedding,
    k: 5,  // Top 5 most relevant
    threshold: Some(0.7),
    ..Default::default()
})?;

Semantic Search

Build intelligent search engines:

// Index product catalog
for product in catalog {
    let embedding = encode_product(&product)?;
    db.insert(VectorEntry {
        id: product.sku,
        vector: embedding,
        metadata: product.to_metadata(),
        timestamp: now(),
    })?;
}

// Search by natural language
let search_embedding = encode_query("comfortable running shoes")?;
let results = db.search(SearchQuery {
    vector: search_embedding,
    k: 20,
    filters: Some(HashMap::from([
        ("category", "footwear"),
        ("in_stock", true),
    ])),
    ..Default::default()
})?;

Agent Memory Systems

Store and retrieve agent experiences:

// Store agent observations
struct AgentMemory {
    db: VectorDB,
}

impl AgentMemory {
    pub fn remember(&self, observation: &str, context: Vec<f32>) -> Result<()> {
        self.db.insert(VectorEntry {
            id: uuid::Uuid::new_v4().to_string(),
            vector: context,
            metadata: HashMap::from([
                ("observation", observation.into()),
                ("timestamp", now().into()),
            ]),
            timestamp: now(),
        })
    }

    pub fn recall(&self, query_context: Vec<f32>, k: usize) -> Result<Vec<String>> {
        let results = self.db.search(SearchQuery {
            vector: query_context,
            k,
            ..Default::default()
        })?;

        Ok(results.iter()
            .filter_map(|r| r.metadata.get("observation"))
            .map(|v| v.as_str().unwrap().to_string())
            .collect())
    }
}

🔧 Configuration Guide

Optimizing for Different Workloads

High Throughput (Batch Processing)

let db = VectorDB::builder()
    .dimensions(384)
    .hnsw_m(16)                  // Lower M for faster queries
    .hnsw_ef_construction(100)   // Faster build
    .hnsw_ef_search(50)          // Lower default search accuracy
    .quantization(QuantizationType::Scalar)  // Compress for speed
    .mmap_vectors(true)          // Reduce memory pressure
    .build()?;

High Accuracy (Research/Analysis)

let db = VectorDB::builder()
    .dimensions(768)
    .hnsw_m(64)                  // Maximum connections
    .hnsw_ef_construction(400)   // High build accuracy
    .hnsw_ef_search(200)         // High search accuracy
    .quantization(QuantizationType::None)  // No compression
    .build()?;

Memory Constrained (Edge Devices)

let db = VectorDB::builder()
    .dimensions(256)             // Smaller embeddings
    .max_elements(100_000)       // Limit dataset size
    .hnsw_m(16)                  // Fewer connections
    .quantization(QuantizationType::Binary)  // 32x compression
    .mmap_vectors(true)          // Use disk instead of RAM
    .build()?;

Balanced (Production Default)

let db = VectorDB::builder()
    .dimensions(384)
    .hnsw_m(32)
    .hnsw_ef_construction(200)
    .hnsw_ef_search(100)
    .quantization(QuantizationType::Scalar)
    .mmap_vectors(true)
    .build()?;

📈 Performance Characteristics

Latency Benchmarks

Configuration          Query Latency (p50)    Recall@10
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Uncompressed, M=64     0.3ms                  98.5%
Scalar Quant, M=32     0.4ms                  96.2%
Product Quant, M=32    0.5ms                  94.8%
Binary Quant, M=16     0.6ms                  91.3%

Memory Usage (1M vectors @ 384 dims)

Quantization           Memory Usage    Compression Ratio
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────
None (float32)         1536 MB         1x
Scalar (int8)          392 MB          3.9x
Product (8 subspaces)  120 MB          12.8x
Binary (1 bit/dim)     52 MB           29.5x

Throughput (1M vectors)

Operation              Throughput      Notes
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Single Insert          ~100K/sec       Sequential
Batch Insert           ~500K/sec       Parallel (rayon)
Query (k=10)           ~50K QPS        ef_search=100
Query (k=100)          ~20K QPS        ef_search=100

🏗️ Integration with Vector Database

Router Core integrates seamlessly with the main Ruvector database:

use ruvector_core::VectorDB as MainDB;
use router_core::VectorDB as RouterDB;

// Use router-core for specialized routing logic
let router_db = RouterDB::builder()
    .dimensions(384)
    .build()?;

// Or use main ruvector-core for full features
let main_db = MainDB::builder()
    .dimensions(384)
    .build()?;

// Both share the same API!

🧪 Building and Testing

Build

# Build library
cargo build --release -p router-core

# Build with all features
cargo build --release -p router-core --all-features

# Build static library
cargo build --release -p router-core --lib

Test

# Run all tests
cargo test -p router-core

# Run specific test
cargo test -p router-core test_hnsw_insert_and_search

# Run with logging
RUST_LOG=debug cargo test -p router-core

Benchmark

# Run benchmarks
cargo bench -p router-core

# Run specific benchmark
cargo bench -p router-core --bench vector_search

# With criterion output
cargo bench -p router-core -- --output-format verbose

📚 API Documentation

Core Types

• VectorDB: Main database interface
• VectorEntry: Vector with ID, data, and metadata
• SearchQuery: Query parameters for similarity search
• SearchResult: Search result with ID, score, and metadata
• DistanceMetric: Enum for distance calculation methods
• QuantizationType: Enum for compression methods

Key Methods

// VectorDB
pub fn new(config: VectorDbConfig) -> Result<Self>
pub fn builder() -> VectorDbBuilder
pub fn insert(&self, entry: VectorEntry) -> Result<String>
pub fn insert_batch(&self, entries: Vec<VectorEntry>) -> Result<Vec<String>>
pub fn search(&self, query: SearchQuery) -> Result<Vec<SearchResult>>
pub fn delete(&self, id: &str) -> Result<bool>
pub fn get(&self, id: &str) -> Result<Option<VectorEntry>>
pub fn stats(&self) -> VectorDbStats
pub fn count(&self) -> Result<usize>

// Distance calculations
pub fn calculate_distance(a: &[f32], b: &[f32], metric: DistanceMetric) -> Result<f32>
pub fn batch_distance(query: &[f32], vectors: &[Vec<f32>], metric: DistanceMetric) -> Result<Vec<f32>>

// Quantization
pub fn quantize(vector: &[f32], qtype: QuantizationType) -> Result<QuantizedVector>
pub fn dequantize(quantized: &QuantizedVector) -> Vec<f32>
pub fn calculate_compression_ratio(original_dims: usize, qtype: QuantizationType) -> f32

🔗 Links

• Main Repository: github.com/ruvnet/ruvector
• Documentation: docs/README.md
• API Reference: docs/api/RUST_API.md
• Performance Guide: docs/optimization/PERFORMANCE_TUNING_GUIDE.md
• Examples: examples/

📊 Related Crates

• ruvector-core: Full-featured vector database (superset of router-core)
• ruvector-node: Node.js bindings via NAPI-RS
• ruvector-wasm: WebAssembly bindings for browsers
• router-cli: Command-line interface for router operations
• router-ffi: Foreign function interface for C/C++
• router-wasm: WebAssembly bindings for router

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please see:

• Contributing Guidelines
• Development Guide
• Code of Conduct

📜 License

MIT License - see LICENSE for details.

🙏 Acknowledgments

Built with battle-tested technologies:

• HNSW: Hierarchical Navigable Small World algorithm
• Product Quantization: Memory-efficient vector compression
• simsimd: SIMD-accelerated similarity computations
• redb: Embedded database for persistent storage
• rayon: Data parallelism for batch operations
• parking_lot: High-performance synchronization primitives

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Part of the Ruvector ecosystem

Built by rUv • Production Ready • MIT Licensed

Documentation • API Reference • Examples • Benchmarks