Microservices Architecture: When and Why

Understanding Microservices

Microservices architecture breaks applications into small, independent services. But is it right for your project?

Benefits of Microservices

Independent deployment, technology flexibility, better scalability, team autonomy, and easier maintenance of smaller codebases.

The Challenges

Increased complexity, network latency, data consistency issues, operational overhead, and harder local development and testing.

When to Use Microservices

Consider microservices when you have a large team, need independent scaling, or when different parts of your application have different technical requirements.

When NOT to Use Microservices

For small teams, new products, or simple applications, a monolith is often better. Don't start with microservices—migrate to them when needed.

Service Boundaries

Define services around business capabilities, not technical layers. Each service should have a clear, focused responsibility.

Communication Patterns

Use REST or gRPC for synchronous communication. Message queues for asynchronous processing. Choose based on your requirements.

Data Management

Each service should own its data. Avoid shared databases. Use events for data synchronization between services.

Monitoring and Observability

Implement distributed tracing, centralized logging, and comprehensive metrics. Debugging distributed systems is challenging.

Starting Point

Begin with a monolith. Extract microservices as you identify clear boundaries and when team size justifies the complexity.