Monolithic or Microservices?

About this interactive

A monolithic application is one large program: maybe millions of lines of code in one code base. Developers collide when they check code in and out, every release ships the whole thing, and if one function needs more power you scale the whole app. If one part fails, it can take the rest down. Microservices break the program into small services that call each other, usually through APIs. A front end hands each request to the service that does that job. Each service is developed, deployed, monitored and scaled on its own, and each can run on whatever suits it: more containers for a busy service, a serverless script for a nightly task. Microservices are not the answer to everything. More services and more traffic between them mean more complexity and more places for a security problem, and a monolith may perform better when speed is what matters. To sort a card, ask whether the application is one piece or many.

What you'll learn

Tell a monolithic application, one code base deployed as a whole, from one built as microservices that communicate through APIs
Match each architecture to its trade-offs: microservices' independent scaling and deployment against added complexity and attack surface, and the monolith's simplicity and performance against its contention and all-or-nothing scaling

Aligned to

CompTIA Security+

3.1 Compare and contrast security implications of different architecture models.

Key terms

Monolithic Architecture: An application design where all components are built and deployed as a single, unified codebase.
Microservices: An architectural approach that breaks an application into small, independently deployable services that communicate with each other.
Attack Surface: The total set of points in a system where an unauthorized user can attempt to enter or extract data.
Application Program Interface: A defined set of protocols and routines that allows software applications to communicate with each other or with an operating system. APIs abstract underlying implementation and expose specific functionality to callers.
Container: A lightweight, portable unit of software that packages an application and its dependencies to run consistently across environments.
Scalability: The ability of a system to handle increased load by adding resources without degrading performance.

Topics

Interactive Streak Sort

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