What is a Microservice?

It was 10 years ago that the term "microservice" was coined - that makes it as old as Agile on the Beach! But where did it come from, and what is it? In this light-hearted talk, we'll cover the history, the design and hopefully answer the question "what is a microservice?"

Transcript

1. What is a
   microservice?
   Chris O’Dell
   Agile on the Beach 2021
   

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2. @ChrisAnnODell
   About Me
   Senior Software Engineer
   15+ years experience
   (inc: Monzo, Contino, JustEat, and 7digital)
   Speaker, Author, and Course Tutor
   

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3. What is a
   microservice?
   Chris O’Dell
   Agile on the Beach 2021
   

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4. @ChrisAnnODell
   Microservice architecture – a variant of the service-oriented architecture
   (SOA) structural style – arranges an application as a collection of
   loosely-coupled services. In a microservices architecture, services are
   fine-grained and the protocols are lightweight.
   - Wikipedia
   

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5. @ChrisAnnODell
   Where did the name come from?
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microservices#History
   

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6. @ChrisAnnODell
   According to this paper
   https://arxiv.org/abs/1606.04036
   

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7. @ChrisAnnODell
   According to this paper
   https://arxiv.org/abs/1606.04036
   

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8. @ChrisAnnODell
   According to James Lewis & Martin Fowler
   https://martinfowler.com/articles/microservices.html
   

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9. @ChrisAnnODell
   According to James Lewis & Martin Fowler
   https://martinfowler.com/articles/microservices.html#footnote-etymology
   

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10. @ChrisAnnODell
    It’s everywhere!
    https://www.dataversity.net/a-brief-history-of-microservices/
    https://www.infoq.com/presentations/microservices-roundtable-2020/
    https://devopedia.org/microservices
    

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11. @ChrisAnnODell
    … so I contacted
    James
    

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12. @ChrisAnnODell
    Bruce Eckel
    

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13. @ChrisAnnODell
    Bruce Eckel
    

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14. @ChrisAnnODell
    Bruce Eckel
    

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15. @ChrisAnnODell
    Bruce Eckel Jimmy Nilsson
    

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16. @ChrisAnnODell
    Jimmy Nilsson
    

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17. What is a
    microservice?
    Chris O’Dell
    Agile on the Beach 2021
    

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18. @ChrisAnnODell
    Microservice architecture – a variant of the service-oriented architecture
    (SOA) structural style – arranges an application as a collection of
    loosely-coupled services. In a microservices architecture, services are
    fine-grained and the protocols are lightweight.
    - Wikipedia
    

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19. @ChrisAnnODell
    Service Oriented Architecture (SOA)
    https://www.flickr.com/photos/davegray/6865783407/
    

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20. @ChrisAnnODell
    SOA Principles
    Service Contract
    Composable
    Autonomy Stateless
    Reusable
    Loose Coupling
    Black boxes
    Granular Normalised
    Long lived
    

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21. @ChrisAnnODell
    Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP)
    https://flylib.com/books/en/2.439.1.22/1/
    

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22. @ChrisAnnODell
    Distributed Computing
    https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/computer-science/distributed-computing
    

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23. @ChrisAnnODell
    Modular Programming
    https://resources.altium.com/p/product-design-trends-in-2020-modular-hardware-vs-modular-software
    

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24. @ChrisAnnODell
    Microservices
    Modular Programming
    SOA
    Distributed Computing
    

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25. @ChrisAnnODell
    Back to Venice...
    

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26. @ChrisAnnODell
    Struggling with the maintenance
    of large codebases
    

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27. @ChrisAnnODell
    Instead of large things,
    why not make small things?
    

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28. Multiple Discovery
    

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29. @ChrisAnnODell
    Invention of the Telephone
    

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30. @ChrisAnnODell
    Invention of the Telephone
    

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31. Multiple Discovery
    Of Microservices
    

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32. @ChrisAnnODell
    The “workshop” in Venice
    http://2012.33degree.org/
    James Lewis
    

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33. @ChrisAnnODell
    Alternative universe?
    Fred George
    https://www.slideshare.net/fredgeorge/micro-service-architecure
    

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34. @ChrisAnnODell
    Alternative universe?
    Adrian Cockcroft
    https://www.slideshare.net/adrianco/netflix-velocity-conference-2011
    

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35. So, what is a
    microservice?
    

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36. @ChrisAnnODell
    So, what is a microservice?
    https://twitter.com/ChrisAnnODell/status/1423618814390964224
    

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37. @ChrisAnnODell
    So, what is a microservice?
    https://twitter.com/bascule/status/1423706101531381767
    

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38. @ChrisAnnODell
    So, what is a microservice?
    https://twitter.com/graham_r_smith/status/1423627130022334466
    

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39. @ChrisAnnODell
    So, what is a microservice?
    https://twitter.com/DivZero_/status/1423843330169794561
    

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40. @ChrisAnnODell
    Let’s go back to
    wikipedia...
    

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41. @ChrisAnnODell
    There is no single definition for microservices.
    - Wikipedia
    

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42. @ChrisAnnODell
    There is no single definition for microservices. A consensus view has evolved
    over time in the industry.
    - Wikipedia
    

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43. @ChrisAnnODell
    There is no single definition for microservices. A consensus view has evolved
    over time in the industry. Some of the defining characteristics that are
    frequently cited include:
    - Wikipedia
    

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44. @ChrisAnnODell
    1. Processes that communicate over a network to fulfil a
    goal using technology-agnostic protocols such as HTTP
    

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45. @ChrisAnnODell
    2. Services are organized around business capabilities
    

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46. @ChrisAnnODell
    3. Services can be implemented using different
    programming languages, databases, hardware and
    software environment, depending on what fits best
    

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47. @ChrisAnnODell
    3. Services can be implemented using different
    programming languages, databases, hardware and
    software environment, depending on what fits best.
    

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48. @ChrisAnnODell
    4. Services are small in size, messaging-enabled, bounded
    by contexts, autonomously developed, independently
    deployable, decentralized and built and released with
    automated processes
    

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49. @ChrisAnnODell
    Myths
    

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50. @ChrisAnnODell
    So, what is a microservice?
    https://twitter.com/Lilobase/status/1423641694856269828
    

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51. @ChrisAnnODell
    You need to use kubernetes
    Myth
    

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52. @ChrisAnnODell
    You need containers
    Myth
    

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53. @ChrisAnnODell
    You need to be on the Cloud
    Myth
    

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54. @ChrisAnnODell
    

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55. @ChrisAnnODell
    You need to use gRPC
    Myth
    

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56. @ChrisAnnODell
    You need to be a startup
    Myth
    

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57. Cultural Changes
    

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58. @ChrisAnnODell
    So, what is a microservice?
    https://twitter.com/kieranmch/status/1423619285155565570
    

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59. @ChrisAnnODell
    4. Services are small in size, messaging-enabled, bounded
    by contexts, autonomously developed, independently
    deployable, decentralized and built and released with
    automated processes
    

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60. @ChrisAnnODell
    4. Services are small in size, messaging-enabled, bounded
    by contexts, autonomously developed, independently
    deployable, decentralized and built and released with
    automated processes
    

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61. @ChrisAnnODell
    4. Services are small in size, messaging-enabled, bounded
    by contexts, autonomously developed, independently
    deployable, decentralized and built and released with
    automated processes
    

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62. @ChrisAnnODell
    4. Services are small in size, messaging-enabled, bounded
    by contexts, autonomously developed, independently
    deployable, decentralized and built and released with
    automated processes
    

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63. @ChrisAnnODell
    4. Services are small in size, messaging-enabled, bounded
    by contexts, autonomously developed, independently
    deployable, decentralized and built and released with
    automated processes
    

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64. Pitfalls
    

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65. @ChrisAnnODell
    So, what is a microservice?
    https://twitter.com/malk_zameth/status/1423637160381624330
    

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66. @ChrisAnnODell
    Underestimating the Increased
    Operability Costs
    Pitfalls
    

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67. @ChrisAnnODell
    Underinvestment in build and
    deployment
    Pitfalls
    

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68. @ChrisAnnODell
    Tight coupling between
    microservices
    Pitfalls
    

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69. Have we taken it
    too far?
    

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70. @ChrisAnnODell
    A web
    https://twitter.com/JackKleeman/status/1190354757308862468
    

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71. @ChrisAnnODell
    Adding in groupings
    https://twitter.com/JackKleeman/status/1190973434601324544
    

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72. @ChrisAnnODell
    Swing back to
    monoliths?
    

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73. @ChrisAnnODell
    Continue to evolve
    Modular
    Programming
    SOA
    Microservices
    Distributed
    Computing
    ?
    

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74. @ChrisAnnODell
    So, what is a microservice?
    

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75. @ChrisAnnODell
    So, what is a microservice?
    https://twitter.com/da5is/status/1423635467145203717
    

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76. CREDITS: This presentation template was created by Slidesgo,
    including icons by Flaticon, and infographics & images by Freepik
    Do you have any questions?
    Chris O’Dell
    @ChrisAnnODell
    THANKS
    

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