However, it introduces additional complexity, particularly in managing distributed systems and inter-service communication, making the initial implementation more challenging compared to a monolithic architecture.
These services are loosely coupled, independently deployable, and often developed and scaled separately, enabling greater flexibility and agility in managing complex systems.
Microservices architecture is closely associated with principles such as domain-driven design, decentralization of data and governance, and the flexibility to use different technologies for individual services to best meet their requirements.
Determining the appropriate level of (micro)service granularity in a microservices architecture often requires iterative collaboration between architects and developers.
[11][12] A bounded context, a fundamental concept in Domain-Driven Design (DDD), defines a specific area within which a domain model is consistent and valid, ensuring clarity and separation of concerns.
A one-to-one relationship, where each bounded context is implemented as a single microservice, is typically ideal as it maintains clear boundaries, reduces coupling, and enables independent deployment and scaling.
The choice of relationship should balance the principles of DDD with the system's business goals, technical constraints, and operational requirements.
[14] The benefit of decomposing an application into different smaller services are numerous: The microservices approach is subject to criticism for a number of issues: The architecture introduces additional complexity and new problems to deal with, such as latency, message format design,[32] backup/availability/consistency (BAC),[33] load balancing and fault tolerance.
[36] Various organizing principles (such as hypermedia as the engine of application state (HATEOAS), interface and data model documentation captured via Swagger, etc.)
Microservices are susceptible to the fallacies of distributed computing, a series of misconceptions that can lead to significant issues in software development and deployment.