Still on the #100DaysOfDevOps challenge it's day 85 of the challenge. I'll be writing about splitting the monolith architecture and in the upcoming series too.

In this blog, we will discuss why splitting the monolith is critical for your microservice architecture and how it can improve your application's performance and reliability.

In recent years, microservice architecture has gained popularity among software engineers due to its scalability, flexibility, and ability to adapt to changing requirements. However, many companies still rely on monolithic architectures, which can be difficult to maintain and scale over time.

What is a Monolithic Architecture?

A monolithic architecture is an approach to software development where an application is built as a single, self-contained unit. All components of the application, such as the user interface, business logic, and database access, are tightly coupled and run as a single process. Monolithic architectures are simple to develop and deploy initially but become increasingly complex and challenging to maintain as an application grows in size and complexity.

What is a Microservice Architecture?

Microservice architecture is an approach to software development where an application is broken down into smaller, independent services that communicate with each other via well-defined interfaces. Each microservice is responsible for a specific task, such as handling user authentication or managing data storage. Microservice architecture offers several benefits, including scalability, fault tolerance, and better handling of complex workflows.

Why Splitting the Monolith is Critical for Your Microservice Architecture?

1. Scalability

The microservice architecture allows you to scale individual services independently of one another. In a monolithic architecture, scaling up a single component requires scaling the entire application, which can be costly and inefficient. By breaking down the application into smaller, independent services, you can allocate resources more efficiently and scale specific components as needed.

1. Fault Tolerance

In a monolithic architecture, a failure in one component can cause the entire application to fail. With microservice architecture, if one service fails, it does not affect the other services. Microservices can also be designed with fault tolerance in mind, allowing them to handle failures and recover quickly.

1. Flexibility

Microservice architecture offers greater flexibility than monolithic architecture. You can add or remove services as needed, change the underlying technology stack, and deploy services independently of one another. This flexibility makes it easier to adapt to changing requirements and scale your application over time.

1. Ease of Maintenance

As an application grows in size and complexity, it becomes increasingly challenging to maintain. With a monolithic architecture, making changes to one component can have unintended consequences for other components. Microservice architecture offers greater modularity, making it easier to maintain individual services without affecting the rest of the application.

1. Improved Performance

In a monolithic architecture, all components of the application are tightly coupled, making it difficult to optimize performance. With microservice architecture, each service can be optimized independently, allowing you to achieve better overall performance.

Conclusion

Splitting the monolith is critical for your microservice architecture. By breaking down your application into smaller, independent services, you can achieve greater scalability, fault tolerance, flexibility, ease of maintenance, and improved performance. While microservice architecture may require more upfront work, the long-term benefits make it a worthwhile investment.