Sometimes, you need an application that may be required at more than one stage of a complete process. You use it with all its components interconnected. If you make a change in one component, then the whole application gets affected. That application is called monolithic application. It is an expensive proposition as it needs to be maintained exclusively. Monolithic applications are viewed as inflexible systems.
There is one more application that is small, independent & re-usable. Also, it can be modified and deployed independently in a process. It puts individual functionalities into separate services. It does not affect the whole process. It is flexible. Each service has its own process and communicates with the help of an HTTP resource web service. It is called ‘microservices’. It saves a lot of investment. It can be linked with other such units to form a larger system.
Reason for its Popularity:
The microservices way of developing and managing software applications is more suitable to changing business requirements, and that is why the organizations are going towards it. The main reasons for the popularity are as follows:
- Microservices applications allow fault isolation. Whenever there is an issue, the independent nature of the services allow modification and the software application remains unaffected.
- The organizations do not need to commit to a technology stack for a long term because they can replace it with another one that fulfills their needs.
- It is easy to start working again as the services are independent.
Components:
The components of a microservice architecture are called its main defining characteristics.
- Simple Request Procedure: The microservice architecture accepts requests, processes them and generates a response.
- Flexibility: Microservice architecture permits the organizations to add independent services from anywhere regardless of the language or program. Therefore, their software developers are free to choose the most suitable services as per their requirements.
- Strong Management: There is always a possibility of issue development. Then, the problematic service can be replaced from the software system. The software system continues to operate normally.
Working:
Microservice architecture working is based on its principles which can be applied across software applications, regardless of technology or platform. The development team is given the full responsibility after the software has been delivered.
The microservices use services that are out-of-process components. They communicate with the software with the help of elements like web services or a remote procedure call.
Differences:
Service-oriented architecture is based on services which perform various functions like displaying system status, creating users and updating the user’s data.
It allows software developers to build, call and expose services and create the services to provide a solution. Just like in microservices, Service-oriented architecture services are all independent, loosely-coupled services. The main difference between service-oriented architecture and microservice architecture are described as follows:
- Communication: Service-oriented architecture permits the developer to develop services in different technological piles and permits to develop an application. Microservices can be developed and operated independently.
- Impact of Communication Failure: Service-oriented architecture is fully dependent on the enterprise service bus. However, each service can be differently built in the case of microservices, and only the fault affected service is affected.
- Size and Scope: Each service in a microservice architecture is smaller than in a service-oriented architecture. Microservices are independently deployable services, while an Service-oriented architecture can be a part of a monolith application or small deployable services.
Prominent Users of Microservices:
Many prominent organizations have been opting for microservice architecture like Netflix, eBay, Amazon, Twitter, PayPal.
Conclusion:
Microservices are natural choice as they are more adaptable to the changing business scenario. However, their managing teams must have clear understanding of putting together so many diverse services to fulfill a single objective.
Leave a Reply