Microservices Architecture: Patterns and Anti-Patterns

Microservices offer flexibility but come with complexity. Understanding patterns and anti-patterns is crucial for success.

Essential Patterns

Proven patterns for microservices architecture.

Communication Patterns:

• API Gateway: Single entry point for clients
• Service Mesh: Handle inter-service communication
• Event-Driven: Asynchronous messaging
• Saga Pattern: Distributed transactions

Data Management:

• Database per Service: Data isolation
• CQRS: Separate read and write models
• Event Sourcing: Store events instead of state
• Shared Database Anti-Pattern: Avoid this!

Service Discovery

Services need to find and communicate with each other.

Approaches:

• Client-Side Discovery: Clients query registry
• Server-Side Discovery: Load balancer routes requests
• Service Registry: Centralized service directory
• Service Mesh: Automatic service discovery

Resilience Patterns

Build systems that handle failures gracefully.

Patterns:

• Circuit Breaker: Prevent cascading failures
• Retry: Handle transient failures
• Bulkhead: Isolate failures
• Timeout: Prevent hanging requests

Anti-Patterns to Avoid

Common mistakes in microservices implementations.

Avoid:

• Distributed Monolith: Microservices that are too coupled
• Shared Database: Tight coupling through data
• God Service: Service that does everything
• Inappropriate Service Boundaries: Wrong service size

Conclusion

Microservices require careful design and understanding of patterns. Choose patterns that fit your team size, complexity, and requirements.