Microservices vs Monolithic: Which Architecture Is The Best Choice?

There are various phenomena related to the software development industry which we need to understand very precisely in order to deliver the best. In this series, Linearloop has brought one of the demanding concepts which are Monolithic Vs Microservice Architecture.

Furthermore, the discussion of the given topic becomes more important from the perspective of developers. Whenever they start any project, the thought begins with confusion, whether they should go for a Monolithic application or take the advantage of Microservices.

So to make their technical life easy, we will discuss the Monolithic vs Microservices pros and cons. Being an experienced software development company, we understand changing the concept of the ongoing development process is very tedious and time-consuming.

Hence it is better to avoid such confusion by keeping a clear understanding of both topics. Let’s move our discussion toward monolithic applications vs. microservices.

As the name reflects, a monolithic application is built with a large codebase that contains all the components like backend, frontend & configuration files. 

Technocrats consider the concept as a traditional method for the development of an application but lots of business giants are getting benefits because of being developed using monolithic architecture.

Furthermore, using the concept of monolithic, one can develop and deploy the applications faster than the applications built using microservices. Also, the monolithic applications are easy to manage after deployment.

But if we discuss it in terms of complexity or challenges, it needs more effort as compared to microservices applications. Because of the single codebase, the applications face the issue of scalability.

Monolithic Architecture

As we have discussed above, monolithic applications are built using a single code base because its architecture holds a single, large computing network taking entire business logic altogether.

Furthermore, if any change is required in such applications, every time we need to update the whole stack using the codebase and hence it is tedious and time-consuming. The era is much more advanced now and we always want smart solutions.

We, as a reliable software development company in the industry, always say, any technology can never be only advantageous or disadvantageous. Each of them has its own specification and support.

Advantages of Monolithic Architecture:

Simple to Deploy: The applications built using monolithic architecture are easy to deploy on the server.

Quick and Easy Development: When developers have to work on a single codebase, they find it easy to work upon.

Good Performance: Monolithic architecture follows a centralized codebase in which one API performs the same function for which microservices need multiple APIs

Easy To Test: Because of the centralized coding structure, end-to-end testing is simple to perform for the application. Hence testing monolithic applications is quicker than the applications created using distributed databases.

Disadvantages of Monolithic Application:

Compromised Development Speed: Monolithic applications that are large with a single codebase become challenging at the time of development. Also, a single change requires more time because the entire code needs to be updated.

Scalability: Monolithic applications are less scalable compared to microservice-based applications.

Less Reliability: A single bug disturbs the entire code and hence the reliability factor is compromised.

Challenging Deployment: If any monolithic application needs a change after deployment, you need to redeploy the entire application on the server.

Microservices are being used across the software industry because it has their own business logic database with a set objective. Contrary to monolithic services, microservices have individual code bases a result of which offers a quicker development process.

The DevOps applications are very well supported by microservices because they are fundamentally required for CD (Continuous Delivery) processes.

Microservices Architecture

In Microservices architecture the code is split into smaller sections by keeping their functionalities (services) interconnected. Each smaller module of the code has its own hexagonal architecture that holds business logic with adapters.

Furthermore, this architecture maintains significant communication between the database and the application. Moreover, each divided code has its own database instead of sharing a single database. This makes the development process more convenient and effortless.

Pros and Cons of Microservices

We always believe, each technology has some advantages and disadvantages. And as a responsible developer, you must be aware of both things. So let’s look into the advantages of microservices:

Agile development: With the decoupling of code, the method delivers agility to the development process because of frequent deployments.

Scalability: When pressure increases when microservices reach the load capacity, a new service is deployed immediately in order to reduce the pressure. Hence microservice applications are much more scalable as compared to monolithic applications.

Continuous Deployment: As stated above, microservice is beneficial because it offers CD. Here the release and deployment cycle is frequent. Also making changes to the code is an effortless job now.

Reliable Testing and Easy Maintenance: The microservice-based applications are easy to update and test. Also, it allows time to market new updates by saving testing time. Further, the applications are easy to maintain in comparison to monolithic applications.

Disadvantages of Microservices:

Increased Cost of Infrastructure: In the case of microservices, the cost increases because of monitoring tools, deployment, testing suits, etc.

More Organizational Coordination: For proper coordination, there is a need for clear communication in order to maintain sequential development.

Challenging Debugging: There is a set of separate logs corresponding to each microservice that makes the debugging process more challenging and complicated.

Conclusion

Here, we have mentioned monolithic applications vs microservices using our best practices.

Furthermore, both concepts have their own significance, and depending on the requirement of the project, they are being used across the industry.

Also, if you are looking for the best architecture amongst microservices and monolithic applications, it depends on the project’s requirements.

Being your trusted service partner for the software development process, we always recommend analyzing the requirement precisely and they go for the technology.

Also, if you are looking for experts in order to develop your application, feel free to contact Linearloop.