ServicesMicroservices

Small, independent services that communicate with each other over well-defined interfaces.

Microservices have been gaining popularity in recent years as a way to build scalable and resilient software systems. In a microservices architecture, a single application is composed of small, independent services that communicate with each other over well-defined interfaces. 

What are Microservices?

Microservices are a type of software architecture that allows for the decomposition of a monolithic application into small, independent services. Each service is responsible for a specific business function and can be deployed and scaled independently. Microservices are typically built around business capabilities and use technology-agnostic protocols such as HTTP or gRPC for communication.

Why Use Microservices?

There are several benefits to using a microservices architecture, including improved scalability, resilience, and flexibility.

Improved Performance

One of the main benefits of microservices is that they can improve the performance of your system. By decomposing your application into smaller services, you can increase parallelism and improve resource utilization. In addition, by decoupling services from each other, you can increase resilience and reduce the impact of failures. 

Reduced Dependencies

Another benefit of microservices is that they can reduce dependencies between components of your system. This can lead to simpler deployments and more reliable systems. In addition, it can also make it easier to scale individual services independently. 

Increased Flexibility

A final benefit of microservices is that they can increase the flexibility of your system. By decoupling services from each other, you can more easily modify or replace them without affecting other parts of the system. This can lead to faster development cycles and more agile systems. 

What You Need to Know for Your Interview

In your system design interview, you may be asked to design a microservice-based system. When doing so, there are a few key considerations you need to take into account. First, you will need to identify the boundaries of each service and determine which parts of the system should be grouped together into a single service. Second, you will need to choose an appropriate communication protocol for inter-service communication - gRPC is a popular choice for microservices due to its efficiency and language-agnosticism. Finally, you will need to design each service in such a way that it can be deployed and scaled independently.