● built as a single unit ● handle HTTP requests, execute domain logic, retrieve and update data from the database, and select and populate HTML views to be sent to the browser, handles authentication - in short: does everything ● any changes to the system involve building and deploying a new version of the server-side application The Monolithic Way
“Any organization that designs a system (defined broadly) will produce a design whose structure is a copy of the organization's communication structure.” -- Melvin Conway, 1967 The Monolithic Way