L10 - Microservices in System Integration Flashcards
What is a microservices architecture?
A type of application architecture where an application is developed as a collection of small, autonomous services that communicate over well-defined APIs.
How does Google define microservices architecture?
“A microservices architecture is a type of application architecture where the application is developed as a collection of services. It provides the framework to develop, deploy, and maintain microservices architecture diagrams and services independently.”
How does Microsoft define microservices architecture?
“A microservices architecture consists of a collection of small, autonomous services. Each service is self-contained and should implement a single business capability within a bounded context.”
How does Amazon define microservices?
“Microservices are an architectural and organizational approach to software development where software is composed of small independent services that communicate over well-defined APIs.”
How does NIST define microservices?
“A set of containers that work together to compose an application.”
How do Fowler & Lewis define microservices?
“An approach to developing a single application as a suite of small services, each running in its own process and communicating with lightweight mechanisms, often an HTTP resource API.”
What are the characteristics of microservices according to Fowler & Lewis?
Componentization via services
Organized around business capabilities
Products not projects
Smart endpoints and dumb pipes
Decentralized governance
Decentralized data management
Infrastructure automation
Design for failure
Evolutionary design
What are monolithic applications?
Applications where everything is deployed as a single executable binary, consisting of several modules in one software application.
What are the advantages of monolithic applications?
Suitable for small applications
Easier when a single team writes the code
What are the disadvantages of monolithic applications?
Difficult to maintain and scale
Tight coupling between modules
Long change cycle for new features
Risky and difficult continuous deployment
What is Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA)?
A distributed architecture where software systems are developed using loosely coupled modules or services that interact via network protocols.
What are the advantages of SOA?
Addresses complexity in big monolithic systems by using modular, loosely coupled services.
What are the disadvantages of SOA?
Flaws in middleware and communication protocols
Uses heavy protocols like SOAP
What are the advantages of microservices?
Scalability
Maintainability
Adaptability
Testability
Lightweight mechanisms
What are the disadvantages of microservices?
Increased complexity
Difficult testing across multiple services
Network performance overheads
Complex deployment
What is componentization via services in microservices?
Each module is developed as an independent service with its own implementation and library.
What does “organized around business capabilities” mean in microservices?
Each service represents a business function, such as inventory management or order handling.
What does “products not projects” mean in microservices?
Each microservice team is responsible for the entire software lifecycle, from design to support.
What are “smart endpoints and dumb pipes” in microservices?
Services contain all the logic, avoiding heavy middleware like ESB or MOM.
What is decentralized governance in microservices?
Services are developed independently without centralized control over technologies or tools.
What is infrastructure automation in microservices?
Automating tasks such as testing and deployment using DevOps tools.
What does “design for failure” mean in microservices?
Services should handle failures gracefully using patterns like circuit breakers and retries
What is evolutionary design in microservices?
The ability to add, remove, and modify services independently.
What are the benefits of adopting microservices?
Technology independence
Ease of testing and deployment
Improved scalability and availability
Better maintainability and reusability
What technologies support microservices?
SOA
Agile
Cloud computing
DevOps
NoSQL
What are the differences between SOA and microservices in terms of focus?
SOA: Focus on reusability
Microservices: Focus on maintainability
What middleware is used in SOA vs. microservices?
SOA: Uses ESB/MOM/Adapters
Microservices: Uses event-driven or synchronous communication
What are the common protocols used in SOA vs. microservices?
SOA: SOAP
Microservices: RPCs, HTTP/REST
What is the scope of SOA vs. microservices?
SOA: Enterprise-wide
Microservices: Application-level
What are the principles of SOA?
Contracts
Discoverability
Loose coupling
Statelessness
Composability
What is orchestration in microservices?
A centralized control mechanism that coordinates multiple services.
What is choreography in microservices?
A decentralized approach where each service independently reacts to events.
Why is choreography preferred over orchestration in microservices?
It prevents tight coupling by removing the need for a central controller.
What technologies are used in microservices integration?
HTTP and REST APIs
RPC-based frameworks
Docker (containerization)
Kubernetes (container orchestration)
What is the difference between synchronous and asynchronous communication in microservices?
Synchronous: Immediate response is required
Asynchronous: Service can continue processing other tasks while waiting for a response
