In the present era, the widespread use of mobile computing is propelling app developers to swiftly execute actions and modify apps without completely redeploying them. As a result, this led to the creation of a new development model, microservices.
While 73% of businesses use microservices as a design component, this new strategy appears highly popular. In fact, different web application development services providers are also integrating this model into their development strategies.
And tons of excellent materials are available for those researching microservices and how they may benefit your business. Microservices.io is a perfect place; you can learn practically everything you need about the topic here.
However, I aim to provide a quick overview of a few essential aspects of microservices. Here, you’ll come across the definition of microservices, their working, and their benefits and drawbacks. Knowing these aspects will affect your choice to include them in the IT infrastructure of your business.
So, wear your detective hats and investigate with me.
And, yes, let’s start with the basics!
What are Microservices?
Microservice Architecture is a software development paradigm that supports complex applications’ conception, implementation, and maintenance.
With the advent of contemporary software development approaches like software development life cycle (SDLC), DevOps services, and agile methodology, this approach is also gaining immense popularity. Microservice applications are composed of several encapsulated, single-concern services that exchange data with one another over high-level interfaces like REST APIs.
Microservice apps continue to function as standalone apps despite being composed of several independent services. End users interact with them in the same way as monolithic apps. They are unaware of the underlying architecture, further divided into microservices or a monolithic code base.
What Microservices Architecture Functions?
The classification of otherwise huge, heavy applications is the primary goal of microservices architecture. Each microservice covers an application’s specific features and functions, such as logging, monitoring, data search, and many more. When you combine these microservices, they function as one application.
The client can create requests using the user interface. The requested task is carried out simultaneously by one or more microservices currently commissioned through the API gateway. As a result, this would help to resolve even more challenging issues requiring a combo of microservices rather quickly.
Microservices solutions allow each component service to be independently built, run, scaled, and deployed. There is no code or functional sharing with other benefits. The various parts of the program’s components communicate with one another thanks to clearly defined APIs.
Every service in the system is custom to a particular set of talents depending on the issue at hand. If the developers add more code, the services could divide into smaller components. This provides developers with a wide range of alternatives for resolving potential issues, including ones they might not know yet.
Advantages of Microservices Architecture
. Enhancements to Scalability
Adding, removing, updating, or expanding each cloud microservice is more straightforward as they all operate separately. Developers carry out these operations without interfering with any other system microservices. Businesses can scale each microservice as necessary.
For instance, businesses can effectively allocate extra resources to a particular microservice if there is an increase in demand resulting from seasonal buying periods. One can scale back microservices as demand declines as the season changes, freeing up resources or computational power for other uses.
. Independent of Program Language and Technology
The development team can select the optimal language for the task because they can write a microservice application in any language. As microservices architecture doesn’t depend on any particular programming language, developers may make the most of their existing skill sets without learning new ones. Another benefit of using cloud-based microservices is that developers can access any app from the device with internet connectivity, irrespective of the platform.
. Seamless Deployment
Teams can launch standalone applications with the help of a microservice architecture without disrupting other services in the design. One advantage of microservices is this capability, which enables developers to add new components without completely reorganizing the system’s architecture. A microservices architecture allows businesses to add new features and functionalities as needed.
. Better Data Security
Microservices help to shield sensitive data from intrusions from other locations if someone tries to break down the architectural components of the system into smaller portions. Even though all microservices are connected, developers can utilize private APIs to link the services. Data protection is done through secure APIs, which ensure that only the right users, applications, and servers can access it.
It is simpler to accomplish compliance with data security standards like the HIPAA for healthcare or the European GDPR if a corporation needs to handle sensitive data like health or financial information.
Nothing is perfect in the world. So, with advantages come some disadvantages also. Let’s go through the weaknesses of microservices architecture for a clearer picture.
Disadvantages of Microservices Architecture
. Higher Upfront Costs
While there are benefits to using cloud microservices, such as long-term cost savings, there are also drawbacks, such as the price of initial implementation. A company needs a robust hosting infrastructure with support for security and maintenance. Even more crucial, it will require expert staff to supervise all services.
. Requires Interface Management
Each microservice has its API; therefore, if you change the API – and the change is not fully compatible, it will impact the application using that service. Managing those interfaces becomes crucial to the functioning of the business in any significant operation employing a microservices architecture. This can be a considerable drawback of architecture.
. Unique Type of Complexity
A microservice architecture can make debugging more difficult. The logs for each microservice will be unique. Finding the root of a coding issue can cause a slight headache.
. Testing for Integration
While using a microservice design, unit testing is easier to manage. Testing for integration is not. Developers cannot test the complete system from their PCs because the architecture distributes each microservice.
Conclusion!
Finally, microservices architecture has several benefits compared to traditional monolithic and SOA systems. These benefits include better performance, more straightforward scaling, and simpler code reuse. Microservices architecture, however, comes with some drawbacks also, such as more challenging development and implementation and higher upfront costs.
For these reasons, it’s crucial to know and balance the benefits and drawbacks of microservices before determining whether they’re the best option for your business.
But how to determine that?
I know the whole balancing process, and determining which microservices to opt for or whether it is ideal for your business can get a bit overwhelming. However, the process can be seamless with the help of an excellent web application development services.
