what is microservices in software development

“Building Block Magic” in the Software World: Let’s talk about what microservices are

Have you ever encountered this situation? After using a software for a long time, I always feel that it is a bit "clunky". I want to change a small function, but it affects my whole body; the system suddenly needs to be upgraded, and the entire software has to stop, which makes people anxious. It felt like trying to replace a window in an old house, only to find out that the entire wall had to be demolished and rebuilt.

This is actually an old problem of many traditional software architectures. They're like giant, solid blocks of cement, with everything stuck together. This is the so-called "monolithic architecture". Sounds pretty solid, right? But sometimes, solidity also means rigidity.

Therefore, people began to wonder, can we change our thinking? Can we build software like Lego bricks? As a result, the concept of "microservices" has slowly entered everyone's field of vision.

What exactly are microservices?

Imagine that instead of building a huge palace, you are designing a smart modular community. In this community, each independent small house is a "microservice". The function of this small house is very specific: it may only be responsible for managing user information, it may only process the payment process, or it may only send notification emails.

Each small house (microservice) runs independently and has its own independent "foundation" (database) and "life system" (technology stack). They are not crowded together, but communicate messages through clear and simple "small paths" (usually API interfaces), collaborate with each other, and ultimately complete a complete business process together.

How is this different from the traditional "grand palace" model?

• before: The kitchen caught fire and the entire palace had to be evacuated.
• Now: The food delivery hut in the community needs repairs, just shut it down. The shopping huts and entertainment huts next to it will continue to operate as usual, and most functions of the entire community will not be affected.

This is not just a technical change, but more like a "divide and conquer" in thinking. Break down complex big problems into small problems that can be independently managed and developed independently.

Why is everyone talking about it? What pain point does it solve?

After talking about it, you may ask, this sounds a bit abstract, what are the specific benefits? Let’s get a feel for it using a few scenarios that may be familiar to you.

Scenario 1: Rapid iteration and update Your product needs to urgently launch a "holiday special effects" function. In the old model, you needed to coordinate the entire "grand palace" team, test all the relevant parts, and take the entire software down for a few minutes when launching. With microservices, you only need to form a small team to quickly build or renovate an independent small house responsible for "holiday special effects". After it is built, deploy it online alone, and other services will be almost invisible. The update is like adding a new attraction to the community, fast and stable.

Scenario 2: Accurate capacity expansion without waste. Suddenly, your software’s order volume skyrockets due to a certain promotion. In a monolithic architecture, you can only expand the capacity of the entire server "palace". No matter whether other functions use so many resources or not, money has to be spent. But in the microservices community, you can tell at a glance that the "order processing cabin" and "payment cabin" are under great pressure. You only need to temporarily add some "rooms" (computing resources) to these two huts, and other services will remain the same. Doesn't this careful calculation sound like a housekeeper who knows how to live a good life?

Scenario 3: Freedom of technical choice In the "Grand Palace", all walls, water and electricity must use uniform materials and specifications. Want to change your bedroom to a more beautiful wall paint? Sorry, it may not be compatible with the overall structure. The microservices community is much more open. The room responsible for data analysis may be more comfortable using Python; the gateway room that handles high concurrent requests may use Go language for better performance. Each small team can choose the most appropriate tools and technologies based on their specific tasks, without being constrained by a unified technology stack.

So is it suitable for everyone? Will it cause new troubles?

Nothing is perfect in the world, and the same goes for microservices. Splitting a big house into smaller ones naturally brings some new challenges.

For example, internal communication that could have been completed within a few steps in the palace has now become inter-community communication that requires route planning, which places higher requirements on network stability and communication design. The operation and maintenance team that used to manage a "big palace" now has to manage dozens or even hundreds of independent services in a "community". The complexity of monitoring, deployment, and log collection has indeed increased.

This is like going from managing a big family to coordinating a micro society. You need clearer rules (service governance), more efficient communication mechanisms (API gateway and service discovery), and a more powerful community monitoring center (distributed tracking and monitoring).

Therefore, it is not a “silver bullet” that applies to all scenarios. For projects with simple business, small team size, and early stage projects, it may be more efficient to build and maintain an "exquisite little palace". But when your business becomes more and more complex and requires rapid response, parallel team development, and a more flexible system, the charm of the microservice architecture will truly emerge.

It's more of a strategy for dealing with complexity. When your software world gradually develops from a small town to a city, the "monolithic palace" will become insufficient. Microservices provide you with a blueprint for planning this "future city" - modular, scalable, and full of vitality.

In the end, you will find that the choice of technical architecture is never about pursuing the most fashionable terms, but about finding the "cornerstone" that can best support your business growth. Just like the philosophy Kpowe adheres to in the field of precision machinery: true reliability and efficiency come from the deep cultivation of each independent module and the deep understanding of how they work together. When each part can function well independently, the strength of the whole will follow naturally. Perhaps this is what the microservices idea brings to us, beyond software development itself.

Established in 2005,kpowerhas been dedicated to a professional compact motion unit manufacturer, headquartered in Dongguan, Guangdong Province, China. Leveraging innovations in modular drive technology,kpowerintegrates high-performance motors, precision reducers, and multi-protocol control systems to provide efficient and customized smart drive system solutions.kpowerhas delivered professional drive system solutions to over 500 enterprise clients globally with products covering various fields such as Smart Home Systems, Automatic Electronics, Robotics, Precision Agriculture, Drones, and Industrial Automation.