What do you need to know about microservices architecture before starting the development of a complex web system
Nowadays, microservices architecture is more popular than ever among software engineers. Why?
This architecture type is flexible, scalable, independent from any particular technology stack and is perfectly suitable for enterprises of all sizes.
Historically, microservices architecture appeared as an evolved version of service-oriented architecture (SOA). It’s a good option if we talk about multiple devices support (including IoT devices and various wearables), and delivering complex multifunctional systems.
The examples of successful application of microservices architecture can be encountered in information systems of Amazon, Netflix, Walmart, PayPal, and many others. According to their representatives, using this type of architecture in provided outsource web application development services helped these companies increase performance rates and consequently meet the changing market requirements faster.
The Basics
Microservices architecture refers to the way of application development as a set of micro services, all of which are built around one full-fledged process.In other words, there are various independent services, that put together work as a united information system.
The main characteristics of this way of building applications are:
- The ability to use different technologies when developing each of the services;
- Decentralized data management;
- A unique database per each service;
- Contact between services works via HTTP connections.
Servers
- In this type of architecture, every service has a single codebase, that consists of individual microservices parts. Each microservice is responsible for a business process.
- Bug fixing and maintenance in microservices architecture has become easier than ever due to the fact that software engineers develop and modernize all the services independently from each other. So when a problem appears in one service, it won’t make the whole system fail.
Information exchange
- As it was mentioned before, services communicate with each other via HTTP, and the applications exchange data with them through a so-called API gateway.
- Another cool advantage is the opportunity for software engineers to create connections with third-party APIs much faster and easier.
- Anyway, just like a coin has two sides, there are some minor drawbacks to this architecture type. Since every microservice’s function is a separate mechanism, sometimes it can be a big challenge for microservices to find each other and connect in the right way.
What are the benefits?
- Agile scalability
- Techstack-free
- No major fails
- Fast deployment process
And even more, if you have a Continuous Deployment configured, the process becomes automated (for example, one can use open-source CD tools like Jenkins or Hudson).
- Intelligible
What are other differences from other types of architecture?
Monolith architecture runs on a single layer, while microservices architecture consists of independent but connected services. Monolith architecture isn’t suitable for big corporate systems due to its inability to scale and flex.The difference between microservices and SOA is mainly in the quantity of supported functionality. Both types represent a set of separate services. Also, developers point out, that SOA is more stable, while microservices is much more feature-rich. Moreover, SOA is less scalable and independent than its descendant.
Which type of architecture to choose?
- If you are planning to create a system, or a simple website/web application, this is not likely to change in the long-term period - monolith architecture is your best option;
- If you need a largely scalable information system, you should consider choosing microservices architecture. Less headache - more opportunities, better user experience.