Microservices vs. Monolith: Which Architecture Should You Choose?
Choosing the right architectural approach decides the success of your software development project. In the evolving world of software development, there are two popular options to choose from– microservices architecture and monolith architecture.
But which one should you choose? Which one of them would be beneficial for your business? Well, it is not only you who have faced these questions. Tech giants like Netflix, Amazon, and Google were also once stuck between these two choices. But they anyhow came up with a decision after intense consideration.
In this post, we are going the decode the questions for you! We will explore both sides of the coin to help you find an answer for microservices vs. monolith architecture.
What is Monolith Architecture?
Monolithic architecture is a traditional approach to developing software and applications. In monolithic architecture, an application is developed as a single, indivisible unit. All the different components of an application, such as the user interface, business logic, and data access layer, are closely integrated and deployed together. A monolithic architecture generally consists of a client-side user interface, a server application, and a database that is unified. All the functions are then managed in one place. That’s why this architecture has a single large code base. In case of updates, the developers have to make changes in the whole stack at once.
Monolithic architecture is often preferred due to its simplicity and ease of deployment. However, its use becomes limited as the size and complexity of an application increases. So, let’s have a look at some more advantages and disadvantages of monolith architecture.
Advantages of Monolith Architecture
Monolith architecture has the following advantages;
Easy-to-use
Applications with monolith architecture are easier to develop, test, and deploy as all the codes are in one place. This makes it easier for developers to understand how different functions of the application work together.
High Development Speed
Monolith architecture keeps all parts of the application tightly integrated which enables developers to create new features faster. Also, developers don’t need to test new features with different parts of the application separately.
Faster Deployment
Deploying a monolith-based application is easier and faster as you need to deploy one artifact only. This also reduces the chances of deployment errors. Even in case of errors, it is easier to roll back changes as all code is in one place.
Disadvantages of Monolith Architecture
Apart from all these intriguing advantages, Monolith architecture has some disadvantages as well. Such as;
Poor Scalability
Applications developed with monolithic architecture have poor scalability as components of the application are integrated together. Scaling one component in the application requires scaling the whole application, which is time-consuming and costly.
Lack of Fault Tolerance
In monolithic applications, there is no separation between different components. It means that if a fault occurs in a single component, it can affect the entire application. This lack of fault tolerance increases the chances of application downtime and reliability issues.
Limited Technology Stack
All components of a monolithic application are developed using the same technology stack. This limits the flexibility of developers to use different technologies for developing new features.
What is Microservices Architecture?
Microservices architecture is a more modern approach to developing software and applications as compared to monolithic. In a microservices architecture, an application is built as a collection of multiple small, modular, and independent services. Each of these microservices represents a specific business capability.
All these services are loosely connected to each other. They communicate over a network by using lightweight protocols like HTTP and simple APIs. Each of these services defines a single function or feature of an application. They are developed, deployed, and scaled independently.
Using microservices architecture gives each function its own code database, making updates easier. However, managing the development and deployment of each microservices can be very complex. Similarly, Microservices architecture has other advantages and disadvantages as well that you must consider.
Advantages of Microservices Architecture
Here are some of the main advantages of microservices architecture;
Better Scalability
Since each component is developed separately in microservices, it is easier to scale them independently based on demand. Unlike monolithic, you do not need to scale the entire application to scale a single component that needs to handle higher traffic.
More Flexibility
Microservices architecture improves the flexibility of development teams. It enables them to use different tools and technologies for developing different components of the application. They don’t need to be limited to a single technology stack.
Improved Resilience
Microservices are loosely attached and they can be decoupled easily. Thus, a failure in any component application does not affect the entire application. This reduces the risk of downtime and improves the overall resilience of the application.
Disadvantages of Microservices Architecture
Although microservices architecture is a modern development approach, it still has some disadvantages such as;
High Complexity
Developing, testing, and deploying each microservice individually can be a highly complex process. It requires careful coordination between development teams and miscommunication could result in errors and deployment delays.
Difficult Monitoring and Debugging
Monitoring different components of an application individually is quite difficult. Since each component is independent, finding issues and addressing them across multiple microservices becomes complex.
High Cost
Using microservices architecture for application development can be a costly affair. Managing a large number of microservices requires more time, resources, and investment in tools and technologies. This increases the operational and infrastructure costs.
Which One You Should Choose?
Both monolith and microservices architecture have their own unique advantages. On the other hand, their disadvantages can not be ignored. Choosing between the two solely depends on the requirements and needs of your business. You must identify what type of application or software you want to develop, assess what resources you have, and what investments you can make towards that.
Here are the best scenarios for where you can use monolithic architecture or microservices architecture:
Use monolithic architecture in case;
- You want a small and simple application
- You have limited development resources
- You want low operational complexity
- Frequent changes are not expected
Otherwise, Go with microservices architecture if;
- You want to focus on rapid deployment and updates
- You want high scalability and flexibility
- You want to leverage different technology stacks
- You want a dynamically evolving application
Final Words
By now, you might have understood that choosing between monolith and microservices architecture is not as difficult as it seemed initially. You can easily make the right choice by simply understanding your needs and which of the two architecture types can fulfill your needs.
Remember we mentioned tech giants like Netflix, Amazon, and Google in the beginning? They made a switch from monolith to microservice architecture as their requirements kept increasing with their business growth. Microservices was a better match for them to keep their business growing.
Similarly, you can also make a switch from monolith to microservices if you are already using it, or you can directly start fresh with microservices.
