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Microservices are becoming increasingly popular and are considered to be the next flexible, scalable, and reliable approach. Without a doubt, many developers are rethinking their application development methods. However, while many have been quick to jump on the microservices bandwagon, it’s not a decision that you should make lightly.
Before you decide the best way forward in your application development endeavors, it’s important that you understand the differences between legacy, monolithic, and microservices applications and the inherent pros and cons that each one holds. So, let’s dive in.
While monolithic applications are often referred to as legacy applications and vice versa, the two concepts are different. Many legacy applications are monolithic applications, but the term “legacy” actually refers to the state of development.
Typically, legacy applications are not being actively improved anymore, but they are being maintained enough to keep them running for the users who rely on them. Legacy applications eventually get phased out–either because the limited development poses feature constraints for users or because the operations team decides they no longer want to maintain it.
In any case, migrating away from legacy applications and replacing them with something newer has many advantages for a business, but sometimes that approach presents just as many challenges. Rarely does a business rely on a legacy application because it lacks better options. Usually, there are better options, but moving to them is difficult because their business is so tightly coupled with the legacy app.
Many legacy applications fall under the umbrella of being monolithic applications because monolithic development used to be extremely popular. Monolithic development creates single-tier applications where every component the application requires is built into itself.
The design of a monolithic application means that making changes to a feature is complicated. There are so many dependencies within the applications that even a small update is hard, and it requires all users to download an entirely new version for things to work. That’s why most monolithic applications are approached with a waterfall development process where changes might be released on an annual or semi-annual basis.
While the concept of monolithic applications might seem to contradict many modern best practices of application development, there are certain use cases where a monolithic application might be ideal. Understanding the pros and cons of monolithic applications will help you decide if there’s ever a good time for you to take this approach.
Microservices are not just an approach to development but a greater approach to systems architecture that will have a ripple effect throughout an entire company. The concept is appealing, and it can offer a myriad of advantages, but that has led a number of businesses to adopt microservices without fully thinking through the complications of doing so.
To put it simply, microservices applications are applications that are loosely coupled. Instead of creating an all-encompassing application, like a monolith, the microservices approach seeks to break each application down into components of standalone functionality, which is dubbed a “microservice.”
Most often, microservices are packaged into containers, which are runtime environments that only contain the elements absolutely necessary to run the microservice. This gives developers the freedom to pick and choose microservices and piece them together like a puzzle, allowing applications to be assembled. With microservices, each service can be added, changed, or entirely removed independently of the other microservices that make up an application.
The loose coupling and independence of microservices have made them a de facto standard for DevOps, but it’s important to realize that DevOps and microservices aren’t the right fit for everyone. Let’s explore the pros and cons of microservices to help you decide if it’s the right approach for your development projects.
With the rise of microservices popularity, many developers have been quick to dismiss “traditional” development approaches like monoliths. But microservices are not a one-size-fits-all solution.
Overall, you’ll want to choose a monolithic architecture if:
It’s easy to be enticed by all the benefits of microservices architecture and the potential that this development approach offers. However, microservices simply aren’t feasible for everyone. In fact, microservices applications can be needlessly costly and hard to monitor.
Before you choose microservices for your applications, it’s important to remember that implementing microservices isn’t an easy feat and it’s not something you should take lightly. Make sure you can check these boxes:
The question of monolithic vs. microservices is being asked more and more every day, but don’t let the excitement of microservices fool you. While microservices have a number of use cases, you shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss monolithic applications–especially if you’re working with a small app or small team. From here, it’s up to you to choose the best option for your next development project.
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