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What Is Microservices Architecture?

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Mandar Navare

An approach to application development where an extensive application is built from modular components or services is called Microservices Architecture or simply Microservices. A single app is structured as a collection of loosely coupled services in Microservices Architecture. Each module supports a specific task and uses a simple and well-defined API to communicate with another set of services. Some apps are easier to build and maintain when broken into small pieces that work together. This is the central concept behind Microservices. Microservices offer an advantage over monolithic structures though the Architecture complexity is increased to some extent. Each component of a Microservice Architecture has its CPU, its runtime environment, and a dedicated team working on it to ensure each service is distinct from another. Using this Architecture, each service can run its unique process and can communicate autonomously without relying on other Microservices or apps as a whole. This protects the entire system against decay and facilitates agile methods because of its ability to be separated and recombined. This makes it very appealing to the organizations.

 

Working of Microservices

An app is divided into services in Microservices Architecture, where each service manages its database and runs as a unique process. It can generate log data and alerts, support user interfaces, handle authentication and perform other tasks. It provides a more decentralized approach for development teams to build software, where each service can be isolated, redeployed, rebuilt, and managed independently. For instance, if there is a problem in any service, the IT team can trace the problem to that specific service and test, patch, and redeploy that service independently without affecting other services. Microservices can pass information such as user queries or a data stream from one service to another using APIs.

 

Microservices Vs. Monolithic Architecture

All the code is in one monolithic architecture executable file, which makes it tough to troubleshoot, test, and update. In monolithic architecture, all the processes are tightly coupled, which means the entire Architecture needs to be scaled if any process experiences a spike in demand. Adding or improving monolithic architecture features is complex as the code base grows. This limits experimentation, and thus implementing new ideas is challenging. More extended testing is required because of the amount of monolithic code involved. Significant planning and preparation time is necessary for monolithic application development. Monolithic apps are difficult to code.

Microservices Architecture offers faster software development and deployment compared to monolithic architecture. This enhances business agility. An app is built as an independent component that runs each process as a service in Microservices Architecture. These services communicate via well-defined and lightweight APIs. A single function is performed by each service and is built for business capabilities. As each service is independently run, it can be created, deployed, updated, and scaled to meet demands for a specific function of an app. By adding container instances, one can scale individual Microservices Architecture of only those services.

 

Microservices and containers

Containers are individual and executable packages, including all the dependencies required to function independently. Containers enable a consistent and resource-oriented packaging of respective services. Each service is independently containerized in Microservices under the same environment, such as identical or related servers. This offers a wide range of deployment alternatives for Microservices developers and businesses. Orchestration tools such as Kubernetes help automate scaling, deployment, and container management.

 

Benefits of Microservices Architecture

  • There is excellent developer freedom and independence as each Microservice is often assigned to a single development team.
  • Microservices take up fewer resources as they are made of smaller components, and therefore they can be easily scaled to meet the increased demand.
  • Microservices enable autonomous development and scaling. If a service fails, only that service needs to be modified and redeployed while other services continue to work independently.
  • App's resistance to failure is increased due to service independence. With Microservices, total service failure is handled by degrading functionality, thus not letting the entire app crash.
  • Continuous integration (CI) and continuous deployment (CD) are enabled using Microservices, thus making it easier to try new ideas. It bolsters experimentation, making updating code easier and accelerating the time for new features.
  • Microservices supports DevOps as it requires coordination between development and operations teams. Experienced DevOps teams can do Microservices Architecture in software development projects.

 

Conclusion:

This article gives insights into what Microservices Architecture is, its structure, working, and benefits in the current business field.


Flentas is an example of a service provider that works hard to help you build your business while ensuring a smooth cloud journey. 

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