Software development has come a long way from where it was a few years ago. Today there are ready-made code snippets and frameworks available that make developers' lives easier. This is compounded by no-code platforms that make developing software applications even simpler and quicker. And along this way, we've seen certain building models and architectures that made this optimization possible.
Many projects that use microservices have seen its benefits. There is no precise definition for microservice architecture, but there are some common aspects to all projects that employ it. Due to the innovations rising in scalable delivery, domain-driven design, and infrastructure automation, microservices are becoming more popular by the day. Let's take a look at microservices architecture and what came before it.
What are microservices?
A microservices architectural style is a unique approach to creating software products. It aims to concentrate on creating single-function units with clear connections and actions. Every one of these modules is in charge of a certain function and can interact with other software systems via straightforward API gateways to resolve more complicated business capabilities and problems.
As more and more businesses have begun adopting methodologies like the agile model, microservices have become widely used. This architectural style has many benefits and is used by famous brands like Netflix, Amazon, PayPal, and many others. Software systems can be expanded faster thanks to microservices architectures. This is mainly because it reduces the time to add new capabilities to your app.
Image Source: learn.microsoft.com
Such an architectural style was created with business capabilities in mind and can be separately deployed using completely automated deployment equipment. These services, which could be programmed in different programming languages and utilize various data storage methods, are minimally managed centrally. The use of API gateways can make many processes simpler as well.
People often confuse the microservices architectural style with service-oriented architecture. The microservices architecture is very close to what some SOA supporters have favored. Although some microservice enthusiasts reject the SOA moniker, others see microservices as one service-oriented architecture.
Monolithic architecture
All activities in monolithic architecture are closely connected and operate as a unified platform. This implies that the complete monolithic architecture should be expanded if one component of the program suffers an increase in demand. As a monolithic application's code base expands, adding new functionality or updating existing ones becomes more challenging. This complication restricts innovation and makes it challenging to implement novel concepts. Because they include many interdependent and tightly linked operations, monolithic designs pose a greater risk in case a single component makes any errors.
Each application process is performed as a service by separate components in a microservices architecture. Each service has a particular function and is designed with business capabilities in mind. Each component can be upgraded, launched, and expanded to match the demand for particular program functionalities because they are separately operated.
Key features of microservices
Here are some of the main characteristics of the microservices architecture:
Multiple elements
The microservice architecture can be divided into several separate component operations. This allows separate service deployment, modification, and redeployment without jeopardizing the system's structure. Rather than redeploying complete apps, you would only have to modify one specific service in this manner. However, there are drawbacks to this strategy, such as costly remote calls rather than in-process ones and increased complications when distributing duties among elements.
Designed for businesses
Typically, the microservices architecture is structured on the objectives and capabilities of the company. Microservice architecture uses cross-functional groups, where various development teams have a particular focus, as opposed to a conventional monolithic growth strategy. Each group produces particular products based on unique services that communicate via a messaging bus.
Easy routing
Similar to the traditional UNIX system, microservices take queries, analyze them, and then produce a reply. Several other technology stacks, including Enterprise Service Buses, operate reversely. High-tech solutions are used for message sequencing, routing, and implementing business constraints. Microservices contain pipes that carry the data storage flows and smart endpoints that evaluate the data management and employ logic.
Decentralized
Traditional techniques of centralized governance could be better because microservices encompass a diversity of systems. Decentralized governance is favored by the microservices ecosystem so that its creators can provide tools that others can use to address the same issues. Microservice architecture encourages decentralized information systems. In monolithic systems, various enterprise applications share a single logical data storage. At the same time, every service typically maintains its data management in a microservice system.
Resilient to failure
Microservices architecture is made to handle failures. It's fairly feasible for a service to break because many different services interact with one another. In these cases, the user should gently exit the system while allowing its nearby services to continue operating. Managing microservices, however, helps lessen the chance of a malfunction. This requirement makes microservices more difficult than monolithic designs.
Evolutionary
The microservice architecture is an evolutionary structure and is appropriate for evolutionary networks. In such systems, it is impossible to fully predict which machines will contact your program in the future. Many programs begin with a monolithic domain-driven design but can gradually be changed to microservices that communicate over an earlier monolithic architecture using API gateways when new needs emerge.
Benefits of microservices
The separate component structure of microservices architecture has many benefits. Each of the features we have mentioned above contributes to this. Many of the software products built today rely on infrastructure automation, and microservice can help with the same. Some of the microservice architecture advantages that you should be aware of are:
Agility
Smaller, autonomous groups that assume responsibility for their operations can be organized through the use of agility microservices. Employees are enabled to work more autonomously and efficiently within a defined, constrained setting. They don't have to worry about the efficiency and working of the other development teams and components. Cycle times for development are shortened. This can increase the overall throughput of the business.
Adaptable scaling
Each operation may autonomously expand to meet the requirements for the software it supports, thanks to microservices. This makes it possible for development teams to appropriately scale their infrastructure automation requirements, calculate the cost of a function, and ensure service availability in the event of an increase in demand. It is more likely that businesses will need to expand a certain unit of the product rather than the entire product. This process is made significantly simpler with microservices architecture.
Simple deployment
Integrating business and deployment are made possible by microservices, making it simple to test new concepts and scale back if something doesn't fit. The low price of failure encourages innovation and facilitates code updates. You can stay ahead of your competition only with new ideas, and microservice architecture makes this easier.
Technical independence
Microservices architecture doesn't adhere to a one for all philosophy. Teams can select the ideal solution to address their particular issues. The same model or tool may only work for some of the components, and according to their needs, they can choose the ones they want. This gives each module, and in turn, each team that works with it, technical independence.
Reusable code
Code that has been broken down into manageable, well-defined components allows teams to use its functionalities in a variety of ways. A service created for a specific purpose can be the foundation for another functionality. As a result, programmers can add new features to an app without starting from scratch with their code. The alternative would be to write similar code repeatedly, which is redundant and frustrating for the developers.
Resilience
Certain errors and mistakes are bound to happen in a complicated software program. It is inefficient if the entire system has to shut down because of an error in one unit. The resilience of a program to failures is increased through service autonomy. A monolithic architecture makes it possible for the failure of one element to bring the entire program down. Programs that use microservices respond to total service breakdown by reducing capability rather than collapsing. Only the breakdown element needs to be fixed, and the other modules can continue operating as usual.
How do I get started with a microservices architecture?
As we have seen above, microservice architecture has several advantages. It is a good choice to consider for your next project. But where do you start? A basic structure you can follow is to start with a monolithic system and move to a microservices architecture later. You can split and structure your employees into teams and assign them work.
It would help if you remembered to have a functional design structure while starting with microservices. It is also important to deploy and host the separate components independently. Try to go for data management options that are service specific. It also helps to adopt the best technology you can find and to centralize operations.
Examples of microservices
Many prominent tech firms employ microservices for various purposes, including simplifying their architecture, accelerating software development, and improving their systems' responsiveness and updating ability. The development of infrastructure automation techniques has also contributed to the widespread adoption of the architecture. Here are some market leaders who employ microservice architecture in their systems:
Amazon
The commercial website for Amazon was a monolith having intricate links between and among its multi-tiered operations when it started. This required careful software development whenever an update or scalability task needed to be carried out to ensure nothing failed. This strategy was common at the time. The monolithic architecture was used to develop even large-scale tech initiatives carried out by major corporations.
But as the user base of Amazon grew, they hired additional people to work on it, which resulted in a larger codebase. As a result, the architecture became more difficult to change, increasing processing costs and lengthening the development lifecycle.
To solve these problems, Amazon broke up its large, monolithic systems into smaller, autonomous enterprise applications. Developers examined the source code in the first stages and isolated sections of code that performed a single purpose. The units were then enclosed inside a web service layer after this was finished. For example, different modules were created for different buttons and calculators. Currently, Amazon develops and distributes products like AWS and Apollo, making it simpler for other enterprises to embrace microservices.
Netflix
Netflix is a forerunner in the microservices architecture industry, much like Amazon. When the streaming giant encountered several scalability challenges and service interruptions, its relocation began in 2008.
When a Netflix data management system crashed, blocking DVD shipments to subscribers for three days, the firm realized that it was time to switch to microservices. Netflix selected Amazon Web Services (AWS) as its cloud supplier to accomplish its cloud migration objectives.
In 2009, Netflix began converting its monolithic architecture, one function at a time, into a microservices architecture. It started by converting its non-user-facing movie scripting platform to run on the AWS cloud using a solitary microservices architecture. It started migrating its consumer systems to microservices shortly after and finished the process in 2012.
Uber
Because of expansion barriers, Uber also decided to break out of its monolithic structure, similar to Amazon and Netflix. The ride-sharing network encountered difficulties combining its quickly expanding international operations, as well as inefficiencies in creating and introducing new services. It got to the point where even basic system upgrades and adjustments required highly skilled programmers due to the complicated application structure.
Uber divided its monolithic application into a microservices architecture powered by the cloud to address the issues it brought. Specific microservices for company operations, like travel data management and customer management, soon followed.
Are microservices the future
Microservices architecture is a strong concept with significant advantages for developing and deploying corporate systems. Several programmers and companies have been utilizing strategies to exploit API gateways that may be categorized as microservices without ever adopting the moniker or even identifying their behavior as SOA.
A few technology stacks try to solve the issues microservices architecture tries to fix, such as UDDI. However, they are complicated to implement and aren't generally used in newer systems. Considering the growing complexity and communication needs of SaaS programs, wearable technology, and the Internet of Things, it is evident that microservices architecture has an auspicious future.
One problem microservices face is that each unit became more and more codependent over time. API Gateways, as well as service discovery, are quite useful in this situation. Building an API Gateway allows all users to enter through a single point so that API Gateways can offer various customer APIs. The API gateway may additionally employ security measures, such as confirming the client's authorization to submit the request.
How does AppMaster help?
As we have mentioned before, no-code development is truly redefining the way developers approach coding. It has made it possible for regular person to build their ideas into software products even without different programming languages or experience. The advancements of many useful no-code platforms and tools have also made this process easier.
AppMaster is one such platform where you can build your products from scratch, even without coding! You can create code for all kinds of applications and not worry about hiring an entire team of developers. This is a far simpler and less expensive process. You need not worry about the ownership of the code you create, as it will belong only to you.
As a modern architectural style, microservices architecture is a very good and stable architectural style for developing complex applications and projects. AppMaster's platform is built on the principle of microservice backends and microservice fronts. Everything scales dynamically, thanks to the architectural style. This means that automatic scaling is possible if we have an increased load on some component. This is thanks to the separation of all components in the microservice architecture.
Instead of having to scale the entire product, which can take up unnecessary resources, we can now scale just one component that will specifically perform a particular required task. Moreover, we offer our customers microservice backends with the help of a designer through our platform. They can create many backend microservices using just our platform.
Conclusion
If you're completely new to the microservices architecture system, it is better to start small. Start your project off with one or two components or modules. With time and experience, you can slowly scale up. This process will be a little easier if you already have a basic monolithic system.
We have seen what microservice architecture is and what its many benefits are. Modern applications can't work with a monolithic architectural style without facing issues eventually. Although the microservice architecture has some complications, it is a far better choice than its counterpart. The microservices architecture makes it possible for software applications to scale up and become more innovative.
