Microservices architecture is the future of software development. It’s a highly efficient way to structure an app, and it has been proven as a key driver of business success for contemporary SaaS (Software as a service) organizations. It is a design method for developing small services that perform a single function. The microservice begins with independent, easy-to-update modules – which have all the data required to run. A microservice team can also move fast – building new APIs, supporting new customers, or customizing new solutions that scale elastically through containers.
Applications are built with microservices so that they can be highly maintainable and independently developed. This new style of architectural design is an upgrade from the old monolithic/centralized models because it enables applications to be organized by business function; this gives startups a way to organically grow their applications for finance, title transfer, etc. An application structured with microservices is better able to facilitate innovation and reduce the time it takes to get new features into production – all while providing more business value earlier. Business units can request and launch their own “microservices” independently without too many changes or downtimes in others’ systems, keeping things simple and easy to maintain yourself.
Features of Microservices
There are some defining attributes to microservices that help you understand how it works, and what it is. These include:
- A microservice architecture exists as a cluster of loosely joined components, each with its own function to provide for the larger application or IT infrastructure. Each carries out a single well-defined function. Each one runs autonomously without dependency on other systems.
- Autonomous – A microservices architecture generally comprises small, independently deployable. Each one performs a specific function, for example, customer profile management. This autonomy helps you to experiment, scale up, or decommission seamlessly as needed.
- Strongly coupled – Not all microservices in an Application Platform are connected by code, but they still work together to carry out business processes.
- The microservices that make up an application can be written in any number of programming languages. They can either run in the cloud, on-premises, a mix of both, or a combination of all three. DreamFactory is an IPaaS tool that enables this.
Benefits of Microservices
Microservices is a software architecture that is becoming increasingly popular. It brings innumerable benefits when it comes to scalability and staying true to the principles of DevOps. A few of the benefits of microservices are as follows:
- Small modules – It is easier for the development team to manage smaller modules. Ever worked with thousands of lines of code for one function? Yeah, we have too! If you ask us, it’s not fun. With small modules, a development team handles the problems. It is advisable to test codes every single time before they leave Quality Assurance. This makes the codebase easier to understand and determine where issues are in your application.
- Flexibility – Each service has flexibility in functionality. This allows teams to make changes independently without disrupting other parts of the program. With microservices, certain features can be scaled independently. If one of those services experiences a surge in demand, it won’t affect the other features. This lets you accurately measure how much each service costs and keep vulnerable features online at all times.
- Scalability – Since each service can be scaled, a team can allocate more hardware and resources when their service is receiving overwhelming traffic. Developers can identify and address any bottlenecks present in their applications quickly and efficiently. In essence, with each microservice only focusing on a specific task, they scale independently in case of high traffic which offers users an overall better experience.
- Fast improvement – As one small part of the application is changed, it doesn’t require rebuilding the entire system and making all the changes at once; just that one.
- Resilience – Resilience is an added strength of microservices. In a single-component architecture, if a component fails, it can bring down the application with it. This disrupts service and leads to unresponsive applications or more serious problems that threaten vital data integrity. With microservices, the idea is to avoid a total failure by handling partial failures as local issues to be addressed by automatic self-healing mechanisms.
- Technological freedom – Teams can pick the optimal solution from an all-tools menu. A Microservices Architecture doesn’t “fit all” solutions, it provides complete freedom for every team to choose what they need. It means that each team working with microservices can pick the best solution for that job in that specific situation, rather than abiding by one set method.
Disadvantages Of Microservices
The primary disadvantage associated with microservices is the added complexity needed to mesh together services. Mapping every detail takes time and effort, which may not be realistic for some businesses. With their many moving parts, microservices require clever (or at least reliable) ways to move data between them. In the end, your dataset and user experience matter most — but getting there can be tricky. While an isolated service reduces the potential for issues, it makes projects need more effort in inputting data into a microservice correctly, as well –just like outputting data back out. In simple terms, microservices are like Chinese boxes; they allow a business to isolate potential issues, but they can also create new problems themselves.
