Microservices: A Developer’s Modern Architecture

Microservices are a trending topic in the software development industry. According to Statista, 85% of organizations with 5,000 or more employees were using microservices in 2021. But what are they, exactly? And why should you care? 

In this blog post, we will explore these questions and more. We will define microservices, explain why they’re becoming so popular, and discuss their benefits and drawbacks.

By the end of this article, you'll have a good understanding of microservices and if they are the right approach for your project.

UNDERSTANDING MICROSERVICE ARCHITECTURE

Before diving into microservices, let’s learn why it was even created! Software development supports two architecture types: traditional monolithic architecture and modernized microservice architecture. While microservice designs use many distinct services, the monolithic architecture combines a single code base with many modules. 

The development world needed a way to make applications more modular for programmers. This led Dr. Peter Rodgers to create microservices, first introduced as an alternative design strategy that would streamline the monolithic style!

Microservices are a modular, deployable, and scalable software architecture that is becoming increasingly popular in Agile development. Rather than building large, monolithic applications, microservices focus on single-function components that communicate with each other via well-defined APIs.

This approach has several benefits, including increased flexibility and scalability. Microservices can be deployed independently of each other, which makes them ideal for use in distributed environments. Understanding microservice architecture is essential for modern developers who want to build applications that can meet the ever-changing needs of today's businesses. 

CHARACTERISTICS ACROSS MICROSERVICE SYSTEMS

Multiple Components

Building software in a microservice architecture involves a set of independent, self-contained services. Each service can be deployed, tweaked, and redeployed independently of other services, making the system more flexible and easier to manage. If one service goes down, additional services will continue to run without being affected. 

Yet, there are some drawbacks to using microservices. For example, tracking errors in a complex system of independent services can be more challenging. Microservices can be more susceptible to security breaches since a single compromised service may expose the entire system. Thus, microservices must be carefully designed and managed to realize their full potential.

Built for Business

In a microservices organization, cross-functional teams are responsible for individual services. Diversifying allows each team to focus on a specific business area and simplifies aligning services with business priorities. As a result, the microservices style is well-suited for organizations that must respond rapidly to market changes.

Also, the microservices style helps to promote cross-functional collaboration and communication within an organization. By breaking down silos and encouraging team members to work together, microservices can help organizations achieve their business goals.

Failure Resistant

In a traditional monolithic application, if one part of the system fails, the whole thing comes crashing down. But with a microservices architecture, applications are designed to be much more resilient in the face of failure. Each microservice is a self-contained unit that communicates with other services to form an application. If one service goes down, the rest can continue to run unabated. 

To further improve resilience, microservices are often deployed across many servers and regions. A backup will be available if an entire server or area goes offline. Microservices are constantly monitored so any issues can be detected and fixed before they cause damage. These design features enable microservices to cope with failure more effectively than monolithic applications.

Evolutionary

Microservice architecture is an evolutionary design for evolutionary systems. It's a way of building software well-suited to the constantly changing landscape of devices and technologies we live with. With microservices, you can revamp your entire system without having to redeploy everything at once. Instead, you can deploy new services independently and let old ones age gracefully. Microservice architecture is becoming popular due to its accessibility and adaptability.

PROS AND CONS

There are several pros and cons to this approach. Some of the advantages of microservices include increased flexibility, better scalability, and easier debugging. Yet, microservices can also be more complex to develop and deploy than a traditional monolithic application. When deciding whether or not to use microservices, it's important to weigh the pros and cons carefully to see if this architecture is a good fit for your project.

Pros

• The microservice architecture allows developers to work separately and deploy services independently. 
• A small team can develop a microservice. 
• Services can be written in different programming languages (though many people don't like this). 
• Services can be easily integrated and automatically deployed using open-source continuous integration tools such as Jenkins, Hudson, etc. 
• This architecture is easy to understand and modify, which makes it a good choice for new developers.
• Developers can use the latest technologies. 
• The code is organized around what the business needs. 
• The deployment is faster because the web container starts more quickly. 
• If a change is needed in a specific part of the application, only that related service needs to be modified and redeployed.
• Fault isolation is better: if one microservice fails, the others will continue to work. 
• It is easy to scale and integrate with third-party services. 
• There is no long-term commitment to any technology stack.

Cons

• Testing a distributed system can be complicated and tedious. 
• Many different services can make it challenging to get accurate information. 
• The architecture adds more complexity, as the developers must ensure that the system is fault-tolerant and deals with network latency. 
• Having a distributed system can lead to duplication of effort. 
• Integration and managing the whole product becomes more complicated with more services. 
• Developers need to deal with extra complexities, like communication between services.
• Handling use cases that span more than one service without distributed transactions can be complex. It can require coordination between different teams.

GET STARTED WITH MICROSERVICES

Microservices are becoming more and more popular, and now you know why. We’ve looked at microservice architecture, shared characteristics across microservice systems, and analyzed their pros and cons. 

If your team is thinking about shifting to a microservices architecture, expect a new way of working. Microservices change how people think and collaborate; each group will have a set-up for deploying apps and be responsible for a unique service. Your team will adopt a new strategy to succeed with this approach.

If you’re ready to implement microservices in your software development project or have any questions, our experts are happy to help!

‍Contact our team at CODE/+/TRUST today!