Summary of Modular Monoliths Are The New Microservices

Video Summary

The video titled "Modular Monoliths Are The New Microservices," presented by Devin Phillips at Codepalooza 2020, discusses the evolving perspective on software architecture, particularly the shift from Microservices back to a refined approach to monoliths, termed "Majestic Monoliths."

Key Technological Concepts and Product Features

Microservices vs. Monoliths: The speaker highlights a trend where organizations, especially smaller ones, are reconsidering the widespread adoption of Microservices. He notes that while Microservices offer benefits like scalability and faster releases, they also introduce significant complexity and challenges in integration and management.
Trough of Disillusionment: Phillips references the Gartner hype cycle, suggesting that Microservices are nearing a point of disillusionment as organizations realize they may not be suitable for all environments.
Modular Monoliths: This concept allows for a single codebase that is modularized, enabling teams to work on separate modules independently while maintaining some of the compile-time guarantees of traditional monoliths. This approach can enhance maintainability and reduce cognitive load on developers.
Majestic Monoliths: An evolution of the modular monolith, where strict boundaries are enforced between modules, ensuring that they interact only through defined interfaces. This helps in maintaining the integrity of the application while allowing for independent development and deployment cycles.
Database Sharding and Virtualization: The discussion includes strategies for scaling applications, such as sharding databases to manage I/O operations more effectively without breaking up the monolith.
Domain-Driven Design (DDD): Phillips emphasizes the importance of DDD principles in identifying module boundaries and ensuring that the architecture aligns with business needs.

Reviews, Guides, and Tutorials

Recommended Readings: The speaker suggests several authors and works on Domain-Driven Design, including Eric Evans, Vaughn Vernon, and Alberto Brandolini, for further understanding of modular architectures.
Upcoming Content: He mentions that his team will be releasing a series of YouTube videos on contract-first API development, which will be applicable across various programming languages and frameworks.

Main Speakers/Sources

Devin Phillips: Architect at Red Hat Consulting, with extensive experience in software development, Microservices, and cloud-native practices.
References to Martin Fowler: Noted for his insights on software architecture, particularly regarding the evolution from monoliths to Microservices and back.

Overall, Phillips advocates for a balanced approach, suggesting that while Microservices have their place, modular and Majestic Monoliths may offer a more practical solution for many organizations, especially those not operating at the scale of large tech companies.

Notable Quotes

— 03:02 — « Dog treats are the greatest invention ever. »

— 03:06 — « Everything old is new again. »

— 08:08 — « In many cases the cure can be worse than the disease. »

— 25:10 — « Microservices are not necessarily the best answer for everything. »

— 25:17 — « Modular and majestic monoliths can move as fast or in my experience faster than microservices. »