What are Microservice Architecture – Features and Components

As the digital environment for business advances and changes rapidly, there becomes a need for a flexible, customizable network of connections and interfaces. The monolithic approach to implementing a tech stack isn't enough for some companies to achieve their goals and scale their business offerings and solutions accordingly. 

The newest and most cost-effective method for achieving this capability is through microservices architecture. Find out how integrating this network and its API-powered connector can help your business operate more effectively and provide better options for streamlining processes and allowing for growth. 

What are Microservices? 

Microservices are a service-orient architecture model created by a software developer named Martin Fowler. It's built from modular components to create a larger application.

The hallmark of this structure includes an easy-to-use and defined interface implemented with an application programming interface or API.

When a company integrates microservices architecture, its development team can rebuild, deploy, isolate, and control how the software operates within the architecture.

Why use a Microservice architecture?

There are many reasons for today's growing digital companies to choose microservices architecture in place of monolithic architecture.

Those entities operating within a cloud or hybrid cloud environment can scale their network with ease and reduce the effort and time that goes into development and deployment when using different languages and other related tools.

Because these microservices require less development time, different teams can work freely and independently without increased workloads and isolation issues.

The distributed system can provide DevOps teams with many advantages that improve business capabilities. It can be used for different projects and offer simple fault isolation. It also functions well when using containers and provides load balance and less resource-intensive processes.

Distinct features of Microservices architecture

The microservices architecture is a system of data exchanges designed to form a complete application. Services and components are working in tandem to provide the web of services and apps necessary to customize each entity's data architecture.

Additionally, it provides the best fault tolerance to prevent failures resulting from a single service malfunction or error. This system also uses API gateways to achieve communication between services and offers data separation for Independent data storage. 

It also provides a decentralized web of services with few dependencies. With these unique features, it's easy to design and deploy specific service functions to help solve issues and address certain issues. 

In some instances, the microservices architecture uses what's referred to as libraries but is defined by the way each service links yet operates independently. These linked services use a remote procedure recall or web service requests to communicate with one another. 

A benefit of using services is that it allows applications to move more freely from one another without complex encapsulation.

Another characteristic of this architecture is that there may be instances of more than one process being deployed simultaneously to fit specific needs. 

Key components of Microservice architecture 

Five key components make up microservices architecture. They include the following:

• Microservices 
• Containers
• Service mesh 
• Service discovery
• API gateway

1. Microservices 

The main component of microservices architecture is the self-contained services. They can be any language and function separate from one another, making them ideal for implementation through various software teams.

There is also the service mesh. It's responsible for the communication between microservices via a messaging layer.

2. Containers

The containers are a package of software that functions independently. Containers work to isolate each service in the same environment.

In order to create microservices, a virtual machine can serve as a container and simulate the functionaries of a standard physical computer.

Containers provide efficiency because they only rely on specific dependencies and the underlying code within the service.

Containers also provide resource-efficient means to package services and give developers various deployment alternatives. Additionally, container orchestration tools like Kubernetes provide automating scalability and container management. 

3. Service Mesh

The service mesh offers a layer of infrastructure that provides additional security and makes for more predictable behaviors in terms of communication.

The services mesh also uses a sidecar pattern and utilizes sidecar proxies to provide dynamic messaging. This setup allows the developer to forego having to use code when creating portions of the application.

4. Service Discovery

The service discovery helps manage deployment and evenly distribute the load. This component features a service consumes, service provider, and service registry.

The services mesh uses a service provider, a service registry, and a service consumer to distribute loads and adapt to changes in the deployment. 

5. API Gateway

The API gateway is an essential part of communication in the complex distributed microservices architecture.

It can handle administrative tasks, ensure the microservices load is lightweight, and perform load balancing actions when necessary.

The API gateway also allows for faster communications between clients and microservices. This setup differs from SOA, or service-oriented architecture. 

Microservice vs Service-Oriented architecture

While microservices use loose connections and APIs, SOA uses protocols to create an application and create functionality and compatibility for services.

This system lacks when it comes to operating within the cloud and cloud computing processes. It can't compete due to latency and lack of scalable service. 

There are varying opinions on the evolution of SOA to microservices. Many feel it's a more granular approach to application architecture, while others think it's platform-agnostic and may find its purpose within the microservices management process and architecture pattern.

Its new features allow it to handle cloud-based services and computing with ease and fewer restrictions for parts of the application.

Why Microservices are better than Monolithic architecture

As mentioned previously, microservices are so compatible with today's need to scale business because they create independent connections that are flexible and customizable.

With monolithic architecture, one executable file is stored with the code, making it more complex to use and troubleshoot.

In the microservices system, it's easy to define and locate the source of the code issues, whereas, in a monolithic architecture, it's much more difficult to pinpoint. That means more workforce demands and holdups or delays.

Testing also creates a situation where more intensive efforts are needed. When there are any changes or updates, the entire application is affected and may require a new version of the application. All of these points add up to considerably more cost, maintenance, and planning when using a monolithic application.

Monolithic applications are also challenging to scale with constantly changing needs.

When there are instances where the architecture reaches its capacity with bottlenecks or similar instances, companies must deploy another version of the monolithic application and use load balances to manage the traffic.

Benefits of Microservices

A microservices application is designed to create scalability via pipelines. This service-oriented architecture is more straightforward for development teams to navigate and maintain from day to day.

Integrating this system for data management reduces latency. It can also optimize the technology stack to make a business capable of adding additional services as well as make connecting with a web application and various platforms less complex.

First, however, you should understand the benefits of this architecture and consider what it is and how it's used within the digital business environment. 

Connecting different services

The ability to connect to individual services and create customized complex distributed systems by building microservices is the best and most effective way for businesses to thrive and expand.

Use this method to provide more automation and continuous delivery of services. Connect platforms, web services, and applications such as the following:

• Azure 
• Java 
• AWS 

Major corporations and companies such as Amazon and Netflix rely on these complex distributed systems to provide international web services to customers. 

Drawbacks to Using Microservices Architecture

While there are many advantages to using this architectural style, there are some potential disadvantages to consider. For example, there might be some latency at times if considerable use occurs.  

There may also be some comprehensive security requirements along with complex testing. Extra attention is sometimes required to create communications channels between connected services. And finally, there may be too much granularity within the complex web of connections.

In conclusion

There are many reasons to update business processes with microservices architecture. It offers a better user interface and real-time access to the infrastructure and overall software architecture details. 

To get started with better data management and scalable services, reach out. We provide the support and tools necessary to improve your processes and gain access to new capabilities and effective connections for services you need for growth.

Learn how we can help you achieve goals and stay competitive in your industry.