Monolithic vs Microservices Architecture

𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗰 𝘃𝘀 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 — 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁?

Monolithic Architecture : A monolithic architecture is a traditional model of software design where all components of the application are integrated into a single, self-contained unit. This means that the user interface, business logic, and data access layers are all part of one large codebase.

Microservices Architecture : Microservices architecture is a design approach where an application is composed of small, independent services that communicate over well-defined APIs. Each service is responsible for a specific business function and can be developed, deployed, and scaled independently.

Example, say we have a social media platform with the following functions:

🔸User management

🔸Content creation & management

🔸Interactions

🔸Notifications

🔸Messaging

In a monolithic architecture, all of the business functions mentioned above exist & are deployed as a single unit. With all data housed in the same database.

In a microservices architecture, each of the business functionalities listed above is treated as a single unit with its own database. An API Gateway routes requests to services, aggregates responses, and more. A centralized management service handles load balancing, failure recovery, configuration, and more.

Monolithic pros:

✅ Simplicity: easier to develop, test, & deploy an app as a single unit

✅ Performance: Can be faster due to shared memory access & no network latency

✅ Unified process: Everything happens in the same place & process — easier data management.

Monolithic cons:

❌ Scalability: Minimal flexibility as everything scales together even if just one component needs it.

❌ Deployment risk: Every change requires an entire deployment. Because every component is interconnected, a bug in one area can bring the entire application down.

❌ Technology lock-in: The application is often restricted to one tech stack

Microservices pros:

✅ Independent deployment: Each service can be deployed, scaled, upgraded, & restarted independently

✅ Resilience: The impact if one service fails is limited to that service & its consumers — reduced blast radius

✅ Flexibility: Choice of optimal tech stack for each service

Microservice cons:

❌ Complexity: added complexities such as inter-service communication, data consistency, and more

❌ Data management: keeping data consistent across services can be challenging

❌ Operational overhead: Increased complexity of monitoring, deployment, logging, and more

So, which should you choose?

Monolithic is best for:

🔹Smaller scale applications

🔹Apps that require simple deployment and development

🔹Fast and reliable communication between components is required

🔹Apps that need atomic transactions

Microservices are best for:

🔸Larger scale systems

🔸Simpler management of development & deployment between teams

🔸Future scalability is required

🔸Apps that need fault isolation

In conclusion, the choice between monolithic and microservices architecture depends on the specific needs and context of the project. Monolithic architecture can be a good choice for smaller projects with less complexity, while microservices architecture is better suited for larger, more complex applications that require scalability, flexibility, and fault tolerance.

Happy Reading!