Microservices: Definition, Benefits, and Challenges You Must Know

In today's interconnected world, companies are harnessing the power of microservices technology to elevate their application services. A recent Statista survey conducted in 2021, involving 950 respondents from various large companies, revealed that a staggering 85 percent of participants have already embraced microservices in their applications.

But what makes microservices so enticingly popular? The answer is remarkably simple, microservices empower companies to deliver superior digital services to their customers. This approach allows organizations to offer a diverse range of services while efficiently processing customer requests with speed and agility.

However, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the advantages of employing microservices. If you're eager to delve deeper into the world of microservices, Virtus invites you to explore a comprehensive discussion in our upcoming article. 

 

What are Microservices? 

 

According to Red Hat, microservices is a framework used to divide applications into smaller services or features but still connected to each other. With microservices, developers can easily develop every feature, even if they come from different teams. 

One example of the use of microservices can be found in the ride-hailing application, where this solution can provide several features such as ordering motorcycle taxis online, buying food, paying, and delivering goods in one application. 

This is of course the key to the success of many ride-hailing applications in realizing their goals as a "Lifestyle App" or "Super App". The existence of microservices in an application can actually improve customer experience, because it can meet various user needs through just one application.

Get to Know the Main Characteristics of Microservices

Microservices stand out from traditional approaches with several distinct characteristics that make them practical, easy to upgrade, and highly adaptable to user needs. Let's explore some of these key characteristics.

1. Simple Routing Process

In applications, the main purpose of microservices is to streamline the routing process. By doing so, logic may be implemented, and data can be sent using classic UNIX systems.

2. Minimize the Risk of Failure

Intended to be able to overcome any network and system problems. The likelihood of this service failing will be significantly reduced by the presence of a backup mechanism for the database.

3. Can Run Automatically  

All of its functions are autonomous and may operate without synchronization with other features. As a result, the development teams for each feature in microservices are typically separate from those for the main application developer.

4. Intended for Business Needs

Enables the development of apps that are pertinent to the business plan. Software that is based on microservices may be developed following the needs and resources of the organization. So that creating apps can work to your objectives.

Benefits of Embracing Microservices for Business

Microservices offer numerous advantages that can greatly benefit your business. By leveraging a combination of REST APIs, event streaming, and message brokers, microservices enable seamless communication and provide the following benefits:

1. Scalability

Microservices architecture allows for scaling individual services across multiple servers and infrastructures. This flexibility ensures that your application can handle increased traffic and growing user demands. Additionally, microservices make it easier to upgrade and manage the application based on specific user needs.

2. Resilience

In microservices, if one service fails, the entire application does not collapse. Each function operates independently, reducing the impact of failures and enhancing overall system resilience. Microservices are designed to handle system errors effectively, making your application more secure and reliable.

3. Simplicity

When changes are required for a specific feature, developers can modify the corresponding microservice without the need to manage the entire application system. This simplifies the development process and allows for more efficient updates and enhancements.

Common Challenges in Implementing Microservices

While microservices offer significant benefits, their implementation may encounter some challenges. Here are a couple of common obstacles.

Complexity

Developing applications using microservices involves breaking down the application system into multiple services. This introduces complexity as developers need to consider fault tolerance, network latency, and other factors. Proper planning and architecture design are crucial to effectively manage this complexity.

Testing Complexity

As the development team works with a large application system and various types of infrastructure, testing becomes more challenging. Creating a comprehensive testing environment and conducting thorough tests across different components can be time-consuming and complex.

To overcome these challenges, Red Hat offers the OpenShift solution. OpenShift serves as an integrated content management platform, providing tools to efficiently manage, monitor, and deploy microservices-based applications. By leveraging OpenShift, you can streamline your microservices implementation and ensure smooth operations for your business.

 

Unlocking the Power of Red Hat OpenShift for Microservices Deployments

Red Hat OpenShift provides tools and features that make it easy to manage and deploy applications in Container environments. 

Using the concept of "build once, deploy anywhere," Red Hat OpenShift enables development teams to build applications and run them in a variety of environments, whether on-premise, public cloud, or hybrid. With tight integration with development tools like Red Hat Developer Studio and Red Hat CodeReady Workspaces, Red Hat OpenShift makes it easy for developers to build, test, and deploy microservices quickly and consistently.

In addition, Red Hat OpenShift also offers advanced security features, such as access management, monitoring, and strong authentication. With security integrated at every layer, companies can ensure their data and applications remain secure in complex microservices environments. 

Red Hat OpenShift has also proven to be an effective solution for addressing challenges in microservices deployments. The platform facilitates efficient management, flexible deployment, and strong security, enabling enterprises to take full advantage of microservices architecture.

Features and Benefits of Red Hat OpenShift for Application Development

Red Hat OpenShift is very popular in the container-based application development world and has been used by many companies to accelerate their application development process with high scalability and reliability. Apart from that, here are some of the features and benefits.

1. Container Orchestration

Red Hat OpenShift uses Kubernetes as its basis to automatically manage and organize Containers. This makes it easy for developers to launch, handle, and monitor applications running in a Container environment.

2. Scalability and Elasticity

Enables developers to manage applications that are horizontally scalable, meaning that applications can increase or decrease capacity as needed, without compromising application availability.

3. Robust Integration

Provides strong integration with popular development tools and services, such as Git, Jenkins, and Nexus. This simplifies the process of developing, testing, and deploying applications.

4. Monitoring and Management

Provides powerful monitoring tools and features to monitor application health and performance. In addition, OpenShift also provides advanced management capabilities, such as permission and policy management, to ensure security and good governance.

5. Security

OpenShift provides a strong layer of security to protect applications and data. This includes features such as user access management, application isolation, and security threat monitoring.

6. Multi-Cloud and Hybrid

OpenShift supports implementation on various cloud infrastructures, both public and private. This allows users to manage and run applications in a multi-cloud or hybrid environment according to their needs.

Get Red Hat OpenShift Solution on Virtus

It's time to use the Red Hat OpenShift solution on Virtus to optimize and simplify the development and management of applications in your company's microservices environment. Virtus as Red Hat's official value-added distributor will help your business take advantage of Red Hat OpenShift solutions from consulting, and implementation, to maintenance. The professional and certified Virtus IT team will help solve technical issues 24/7. For more information on Red Hat Application Services, click here.

Author: Abdul Aziz

Editor: Ary Ardianto

Content Writer CTI Group

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