Microservices are a way to build the bases for the development of an application. In this post, we’ll dive into the definition of such type of architecture, its functioning and usefulness.
Most applications which are developed nowadays actually rely on a microservice architecture. According to several studies, among those the Mulesoft 2022 Services Mesh & API Whitepaper, 91% of entreprises use or plan to use microservices. With their division into several distinct fragments, microservices make the developers’ job easier, tend to more agility and allow by extension a better management of user experience.
Let’s see how to describe those microservices, let’s compare their functioning to another type of architecture, and let’s dig into the advantages within an agile framework.
1. What is a Microservice?
The microservice architecture is a type of software architecture in which the application is divided into several distinct services. Each service is focused on the achievement of a single well-defined task.
Usually, we’ll make a functional division according to the reality of a certain job. For example, we’ll create distinct microservices for a website’s landing page, webshop cart, or even the webshop’s inventory.
Creating a microservice architecture means therefore choosing the creation of modular services independent from one another. And as a microservice is only one functionality within the system, the application, therefore divided, is easier to develop and to keep it running.
But, concretely,…
2. How do Microservices Work?
The principle of a microservice architecture relies on simplifying the modification, release and upgrade of its underlying functions. Every function is therefore autonomous, and it’s easy to intervene on it without impacting other collaborators’ job. With such an organisation, it’s possible to witness an app unit’s technical crash, without impacting the rest, and therefore without causing a general breakdown of services.
The container includes all necessary tools to make a website or application work. It’s possible to transport it with all elements inside to another machine.
To create such a structure, microservice architectures are often coupled with containerisation (Docker being the most used platform), which is also useful for DevOps. We can see the container like a package, containing every tool necessary for an application or website to run correctly.
Within a microservice structure, each service gets its own container, and each owns its execution environment to contain data (whatever the language used: Java, CB, etc.).
Thanks to containerisation, it gets easier to increase or decrease the number of microservices, or to prioritise actions. For example, during a loading peak on the application, or during an event causing a higher demand for the execution of a single service, it’s possible to create multiple containers which would all host that particular microservice. Microservices are therefore autonomous and allow us to be reactive and to adapt to the needs in real time.
3. Microservices vs Monolithic Architecture
As opposed to microservices, monolithic applications are built so that a single service can answer to every possible request. Services are not split in such an architecture, which often turns out as a complex structure.
Most of the time, all information is stored within a huge database. All elements are linked to one another, which creates interdependencies between the application’s many bricks.
The code quantity increases constantly, which makes the application difficult to master or improve. The project is getting more and more complex, and we quickly lose perspective.
For example, a slight modification could require refreshing the entire platform to make sure it runs correctly.
For any recent organisation, a monolithic architecture shows a lot of cons, including being an environment unfit for agility.
4 . What Are the Pros of a Microservice Architecture?
Applications based on a microservice architecture are split into several functional units, and each microservice executes a specific task. The goal of such an architecture is to give maximum agility and a potential for evolution.
Applications nowadays are sprawling, their services being spread and including more and more add-ons. A microservice architecture includes various advantages:
- A better adaptability to needs, and possibility for custom-made services
- A simpler development
- Less impact on the application as a whole, and more mastering
- Decreased size and volume
In summary, for a few years now, a microservice architecture has rather been used than a monolithic architecture. The more critical the business model is, the less risk the entreprise will want to take, and the more it will favor a technical base easy to sustain, modify, and make it evolve. The organisation is more flexible and agile by far.
5 . Combining Microservices with an Agile Organisation
Within an agile organisation, the tech team releases a lot of versions and sequences are fast.
Teams must be able to sync quickly and to coordinate their efforts. With the choice of a microservice architecture, we enjoy advantages such as:
- Development flexibility: Each team member can intervene on a service without impacting the others, as services are developed and released independently.
- Launching new functions and make them evolve is therefore easier.
- Technical reliability: Microservices allow to detect and isolate crashes more easily, as they are easier to understand and modify.
- Possibility for technological diversification: New developers can access the project without prerequisite, as every language can be used.
Eventually, choosing a technical organisation in microservices also allows for a better user experience.
6 . What Are the Challenges of a Microservice Architecture?
The use of a microservice architecture shows a lot of pros, but cons also exist.
Those are related to:
- Security of communication networks between microservices
- Traffic and QoS control in exchanges between services
- Monitoring and governance of microservices as a whole
To overcome those difficulties, organisations are setting up architectural solutions like service mesh, which allows for a manageable and observable communication.
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In summary :
The microservice architecture is a type of software architecture in which the application is divided into several distinct services. Each service is focused on the achievement of a single well-defined task.
A microservice architecture allows to develop every service independently. Each microservice is split into several units and is focused on executing a single specific task. The goal of such an architecture is to provide maximum agility and potential for evolution.
The advantages of a microservice architecture are many. Among those, we find a possibility to adapt to needs in real time and a development made easier for software developers.
