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Why should you use microservices architecture for your startup?

written by itph
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Choosing the right software architecture for your startup project is critical. You want something that will scale as you grow, but that doesn’t come with a lot of overhead or unnecessary complexity. Microservices architecture may be just what you need.

In this article, I’ll go through why you need a microservices architecture for your start-up, how to put it in place, and what challenges we might face.

Content:

What are Microservices?

Microservice is a Service Oriented Architecture style where an application is composed of many small services that communicate with each other. These services can be written in different programming languages and can run on different platforms.

A microservices architecture may be more modular and scalable than a monolithic application.

So if you are starting up a new business, you should consider using microservices in your project. Microservices can help you save time and money while still providing a high-quality product.

What are the benefits?

There are several benefits of using microservices for your startup:

Business Capabilities

It’s critical to think about the business capabilities the system will need to support while developing a large complicated system. Microservices architecture is a good choice if the system will need to support multiple services.

For example, a Shopping Cart service should be responsible for managing the items in the cart and providing a checkout API. A Catalog service. should be responsible for managing the products and categories in the catalog.

This is in contrast to the monolithic application where all services are tightly coupled and share a common code base. This microservices-based approach can lead to a more maintainable and testable system.

Support for multiple services

The fundamental principle of microservices is that each service is a separate instance. For instance, you can have a Linux server for your web service API and other services for your client-side. The entire application can be modularized.

Service-Oriented Architecture(SOA)

Microservices are often built using a Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA). In SOA, services communicate with each other using a well-defined interface.

This can be helpful in ensuring that each microservice is loosely coupled and can be easily replaced or updated without affecting the other services.

Programming Language Agnostic.

In microservices, each service can be written in a different programming language. This can be helpful if you have a team of developers with different skill sets. For example, you can have a team of Java developers working on the data storage optimization and a team of Python developers working on another technology stack.

Each microservice can also be deployed on a different platform. For example, you can deploy the Shopping Cart service on Apache Tomcat and the Catalog service on Node.js.

Flexibility in Deployment

In microservices, each service can be deployed independently. Giving your development team flexibility on how your app is deployed.

Cloud service supported.

Microservices can be deployed on a cloud platform such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud Platform and other services.

What is monolithic architecture?

Monolithic is a software development style where an entire application is built as a single unit. All the different components of the application are tightly coupled together. This can make monolithic applications difficult to deploy and scale because all of the components must be updated at the same time.

Monolithic applications are also more likely to experience performance issues because a problem with one component can affect the whole system. However, if you have a small project, it’s easier to test and deploy since all of the code is in one place. In recent years, many companies have moved away from monolithic architecture in favor of more modular approaches.

Microservices vs Monolithic which approach is suitable for a start-up?

The answer depends on your project. If you have a simple project, a monolithic approach may be sufficient. However, if you have a complex project, a microservices approach may be a better option.

There are several factors to consider when deciding which approach to use:

– The size of your team: If you have a large team, a microservices approach may be easier to manage.

– The complexity of your project: If your project is complex, a microservices approach may be a better option.

– The speed of development: A microservices approach can allow you to develop and deploy new features faster.

When to use monolithic architecture?

Monolithic can be a good choice for simple projects or projects with a small team. It can also be a good choice if you need to develop and deploy new features quickly.

Microservices Common Questions.

Though microservice is not really new most entrepreneurs don’t really know when and what is microservices. If you are one of those people, don’t worry, you are not alone. Here are some microservice FAQs that can help you decide if microservices are the right choice for your business.

Is microservices the same as API?

API is a set of programming instructions and standards for accessing a web-based software application. A microservice is an architectural approach that divides a software application into small, independent services.

Both API and microservices are built for the purpose of modularity. However, they have different approaches. An API exposes the functionality of a service as an interface that can be accessed by other software applications. A microservice is a self-contained unit that implements a single functionality.

While API and microservices have different approaches, they can be used together. For example, you can use an API to expose the functionality of a microservice. Or you can use microservices to build an API.

Are the frontend or backend microservices?

Microservice is an architectural approach and it can be implemented in both the front and backend. For example, the microservices approach can be used to develop a frontend web application. In this case, each microservice would be responsible for a different part of the UI.

The microservices approach can also be used to develop a backend API. In this case, each microservice would be responsible for a different part of the API.

So, microservices can be used in both the frontend and backend. It just depends on how you want to implement it.

Is Kubernetes microservices?

Kubernetes is a container orchestration platform that can be used to manage microservices. It is not itself a microservice. Kubernetes is often used with microservices because it can help to automate the management and deployment of microservices. However, you can use Kubernetes without using microservices.

You can Kubernetes to orchestrate the entire system or you can use it to orchestrate individual microservices. It just depends on your needs.

Is Docker Microservices?

Docker is a containerization platform that can be used to package microservices. It is not itself a microservice. Docker is often used with microservices because it can help to automate the management and deployment of microservices. However, you can use Docker without using microservices.

Challenges of Using Microservices Architecture.

There are a few common challenges that you may encounter when using microservices.

Communication:

Microservices need to be able to communicate with each other services. This can be a challenge, especially if you are using different programming languages or frameworks and technology stacks.

Management:

When you set up your own independent services, things might get a little complicated. You must ensure that all of the services are installed correctly and that they can be easily managed.

Testing:

Since you’re testing many services together, coordinating them individually may be difficult. You need to make sure that all of the services are working correctly and that they are compatible with each other.

Debugging:

When you have a microservice architecture, it can be difficult to debug issues. This is because you need to understand how the different individual services work together in order to identify the issue.

Security:

Having distributed systems can create more opportunities for security breaches. You need to make sure that all of the services are properly secured and that there are no vulnerabilities.

How do I get started?

Like any software development Life Cycle(SDLC), microservices have a few different stages:

Requirement gathering

In this phase, you will need to understand the business requirements and what you want to achieve. You also have to consider your existing service(s) especially if you are using a monolithic application on how you can integrate it into your current architectural style.

Design

After you have gathered all your business requirements, you will need to start designing your microservices. This includes deciding on the technology stack, language, and frameworks that you want to use. You will also need to consider how you want to deploy your microservices.

Development

In this phase, your development teams can start working on individual service. For example, one team is working with the API gateway service and the other team is working on your own database system.

Testing

The good thing with the distributed system is that you can test it individually before putting it all together. In this phase, you will test each microservice architecture to make sure that it works as expected from the user interface(UI) to your data storage.

Deployment

After all the testing is done it is now time for deployment. It is best practice to start with a small deployment in staging this way errors will be caught early on and with the use of continuous delivery, you can minimize service failures.

Monitoring

Once is every service instance running and all business logic is working as expected it is now time to monitor your microservices in production. This can be done by gathering data and logs to help identify any issues that might occur.

You also have to monitor data consistency, microservices availability, and performance making sure individual services communicating properly.

Maintainance

If everything is running smoothly you will still need to do some maintenance work like upgrading to the latest microservices version or adding new features.

Choosing the right microservices design patterns.

There are over a dozen microservices design patterns to pick from. But, before we go into that, let’s define what a microservices design pattern is?

In software engineering, a microservices design pattern is an architectural style that is used to structure an application as a collection of services.

Here are a few microservices design patterns that you can choose from:

Layered architecture pattern

This pattern divides the application into layers, each of which is responsible for a different aspect of the application.

Event-driven architecture pattern

This pattern uses events to trigger actions. For example, an event can be used to start or stop a microservice.

Pipe-and-filter architecture pattern

This pattern uses a series of pipes to connect different microservices. Each microservice performs a specific task and then passes the data to the next microservice in the pipeline.

Circuit breaker architecture pattern

This pattern is used to handle failure in a microservice. When a microservice fails, the circuit breaker trips and prevents any further requests from going to that microservice. This allows the other microservices to continue running and prevents the entire system from crashing.

API aggregator architecture pattern

This pattern combines multiple microservices into a single API. This can simplify the development process and make it easier to deploy and manage microservices.

Strangler architecture pattern

This pattern slowly replaces a monolithic application with microservices. This is done by adding microservices to the existing application and slowly deprecating the old monolithic code.

Backend For Frontend (BFF) architecture pattern

This pattern uses a microservice to act as a gateway for other microservices. The BFF microservice handles authentication, authorization, and routing. It also provides a consistent interface for the different microservices.

Proxy architecture pattern

This pattern uses a microservice to act as a proxy for other microservices. The proxy microservice handles authentication, authorization, and routing. It also provides a consistent interface for the different microservices.

Command Query Segmentation (CQRS) architecture pattern

This microservices pattern is used to decouple the write and read operations. This means that there are two separate microservices for writing data and reading data. This can improve performance and scalability.

SAGA architecture pattern

This microservices pattern is used to handle transactions that span multiple microservices. A Saga is a series of actions that are carried out in order to complete a task. Each action is carried out by a different microservice.

Whatever type of microservices patterns you choose, make sure that it is well suited for your particular business needs.

Best practices in implementing microservices architectures.

It’s difficult and near impossible to build microservices without following certain best practices. Here are some microservices best practices that you should follow:

Iterative Development

When building microservices, it’s best to follow an iterative development. Implement agile methodologies such as Scrum or Kanban for microservices development. This will help you deliver microservices faster and with fewer bugs.

DevOps

Implementing continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery(CI/CD) pipeline is required for microservices development. You may reduce operational complexity and maintain data consistency across service boundaries with DevOps.

Loose Coupling

Make sure each service instances are loosely coupled for easy data management and business logic is handled by each service. When services are loosely coupled, they can be deployed and scaled independently without affecting other services.

Data Management

Apply data management to your service design to maintain data consistency across the business domains. When designing microservices, you should consider how data will be shared and accessed by other services. Make it secure even if its independently

Asynchronous communication

Use an asynchronous communication model such as message-oriented middleware to communicate between services. This will help you avoid blocking calls and increase performance.

Automated Unit testing.

Incorporate the automated unit testing into your deployment process this way it will lessen the manual efforts, and time, and get more accuracy.

Domain-driven design

Adheres to principles such as fine-grained interfaces (to independently deployable services), and business-driven development (e.g. domain-driven design).

Load balancing

Apply a load balancer to distribute internet traffic across all your microservices applications. This will help you to avoid overloading a single microservice.

Infrastructure as a code (IAC)

All your architectural style setup must be done using Infrastructure as a code(IAC). So you can keep track of all your changes for easy rollback and deployments.

Single Sign-on(SSO)

The advantage of using SSO in microservices is that the user needs to log in only once to access all microservices. This will reduce the complexity of managing multiple usernames and passwords and help normalize your database especially if you’re dealing with multiple devices.

Automation

While not everything can be automated it is best if you include in the business rules how you can automate some of your business processes. This way your development teams will be able to focus on other important tasks.

Documentation

Implementing microservices without proper documentation is a recipe for disaster. So, it is important that you have detailed documentation not only on your app development but also on your microservice architecture.

Use case of microservice architecture.

Microservices architecture is now widely utilized. Many more organizations are embracing the modular method (rather than monolithic) to support their business needs.

Adopting microservices patterns has helped them to be more agile and respond faster to the ever-changing market demands.

E-commerce

If you’re working on an e-commerce website, microservices are almost certainly required. Because most of the time, you’ll need to interact with numerous partners, especially regarding payments and shipping, it’s very likely that you’ll require microservice architecture.

IoT

To offer modularity, you’ll need microservice architecture when developing a wearables-based hardware-software system. The same goes for any other Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices you might be working on, as they’ll need to communicate with a variety of services to function properly.

Banking

In banking where security is the biggest concern, service decomposition can help you achieve that. When designing microservices with security in mind, it is important to consider each individual service’s fault isolation software systems. This way when one service fails all other services are still accessible.

Conclusion:

Microservice architecture offers many benefits over monolithic architecture. They are easier to develop, deploy, and scale. They are also more resilient to failure and can be updated without affecting the entire system. However, It can be complex to manage and require more infrastructure.

If you are planning to build a startup, microservices is a good choice for you. What do you think? please put your comment below!