Microservices is an architecture that promotes breaking down a big monolithic application into smaller and simpler services, organized around business capabilities or functions. The multiple components are then deployed on distinct machines, to operate independently from each other. Microservices applications thus comprise independent services that teams develop, deploy, and maintain separately.
Why migrate from monolith to microservices architecture?
Monolith architecture is unmanageable and by breaking large applications into small parts which are easy to maintain, microservices architecture will contribute to faster development and quicker launches.
The benefits of microservices are also its key characteristics:
Decentralized: Microservices promote decentralized governance and decision-making as each service has its own codebase, database (if needed), and team responsible for it.
Loosely Coupled: Microservices communicate with each other using lightweight protocols, allowing for independent development, deployment, and scaling.
Independent Deployment: Microservices can be deployed independently of one another. A change or update to one does not require redeploying the entire application.
Scalability: Individual services can be scaled independently based on their specific usage patterns and demands.
Fault Isolation: If a microservice fails or experiences issues, the failure is contained within the failing service, and other services can continue to function normally.
Technology Diversity: Microservices allow for the use of different technologies and programming languages for each service, based on the specific requirements of the development team.
Seven guiding principles for breaking monolith to microservices
- Understand the monolith
The monolith has to be understood properly to make code changes that won’t disrupt a running application and user experience. Evaluate the monolithic application components to comprehend all the dependencies and their business functions. This can be done through topology mapping and understanding how the frontend ties to backend functions. Mapping out dependencies accurately is not easy when done manually. Automation combined with intelligent observability can help overcome this problem.
- Refactor incrementally
Refactoring is the process of restructuring code, while not changing its original functionality. Refactoring microservices is like re-architecting and rebuilding your application - making small changes without altering the code’s external behavior. This requires time. The best approach is incremental, that is in regular stages. For instance, by using the Strangler Fig pattern, we can gradually replace parts of the monolithic application until only the microservices architecture remains. The approach takes place in three stages: 1. Create a microservice; 2. Use both the microservice and monolith for the same functionality 3. Remove the dependency on the monolith after due testing.
- Loosely coupled microservices
Traditionally, monolithic applications are tightly coupled, meaning dependencies among services within the app are interlaced. When creating new microservices, it is better to keep them loosely coupled with minimal dependencies. This allows for flexible changes and ease of deployment. Teams understand dependencies better too, in order to make changes.
Also, loosely coupled microservices are more resilient to changes because they are not tightly coupled to each other. This means that if one microservice fails, the other microservices can continue to operate. Our software developers understand that a microservice needs to be resilient to failures. There needs to be resiliency in the compute capability (the process can restart at any time) as well as resilience in the state or data (no data loss, and consistency in data).
- Automate
Automation is a key element to streamlining processes. Coordinating a large number of rapidly changing services necessitates automated continuous integration and continuous delivery.
An automated CI/CD pipeline allows for an extremely smooth release process. Every step of the way, define checks based on SLAs, SLOs, SLIs, and security scans, and automate the transitions from continuous integration, delivery, and deployment.
- Integrate security at every stage
Security breaches are rampant and integrating security into all application changes is more important than ever. Security should be an integral part of each stage of the software delivery lifecycle, from development to monitoring in real time. Real-time security monitoring—evaluating continuously updated security data about systems, processes, and events—and runtime security monitoring—analyzing security information from a running system—can be especially useful during migration since there will be an immediate alert if there is a security risk with microservices architecture.
- Pick the right technology for each service
Microservices architecture allows us to choose different technologies for the application function. Using too many different languages and technologies can be complex and requires capable teams. Since microservices can operate independently of each other, expert teams such as ours can leverage a polyglot architecture that uses the language and technology best suited for the job.
- End-to-end observability
When migrating to microservices from a monolithic architecture, application complexity increases. Many microservices and different supporting technologies run independently of each other to support the application. With so many different components, it is easy to lose track of what is happening in which component when potential problems arise. End-to-end observability starts with tracking logs, metrics, and traces of all the components, providing a better understanding of service relationships and application dependencies. We recommend tools like Kibana and Prometheus for this.
Once the application has successfully migrated, deploy changes fast to optimize performance and eliminate bottlenecks. Continuously update, improve, and easily add new features to provide an exceptional user experience. Utilize observability data to monitor and improve digital experiences and analyze data that can affect the business.
Challenges of monolith to microservices migration
Breaking monolith applications to microservices is challenging.
- Refactoring a monolithic application to microservices creates many small components that constantly communicate. The interconnections between services need to be smooth.
- When more services are interacting, you increase possible failure points, which teams like ours stay one step ahead of.
- Distributed logic with distributed data increases the effort of finding the root cause of issues.
- Operational complexity is also increased due to the increased demands on managing these services and monitoring them.
Migration Experts
Breaking monolith to microservices is important to allow for faster release cycles, greater scalability, and the flexibility to test new methodologies and technologies. However, migration is time-consuming, as is refactoring and rewriting code. Costs of new tools and development are also to be factored in. Therefore, it’s important to do it right.
Evon Technologies Pvt Ltd is a software development company in India that has expertise in designing migration plans and implementing microservices. We enable organizations to quickly access microservices through the cloud or hybrid cloud deployment, with our expert Cloud consulting services. We make sure that the application is unique, user-friendly and snappy for the visitor. We bring attributes that include cross-platform compatibility, usability, and scalability, to your application. If you or your organization decide on implementing any of the architecture in application design, then contact us today or drop an email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
