Microservices vs. Service-Oriented Architecture

Chapter 4. Comparing Architecture Capabilities

In the last chapter I showed you how architecture patterns can help define basic architectural characteristics. In this chapter I take a similar approach, but instead of architecture characteristics I focus on the architecture capabilities that are described through the patterns. By looking at an architecture pattern you can tell if applications will likely be scalable, maintainable, and extensible, and if they will be relatively easy to develop, test, and deploy.

In this chapter I compare microservices and SOA by focusing on three major architectural capabilities—the size of the application each architecture pattern supports, the type of systems and components that can be integrated using each architecture pattern, and finally the ability of the architecture pattern to support contract decoupling.

Application Scope

Application scope refers to the overall size of the application that an architecture pattern can support. For example, architecture patterns such as the microkernel or pipeline architecture are better suited for smaller applications or subsystems, whereas other patterns such as event-driven architecture are well-suited for larger, more complex applications. So where do the microservices and SOA patterms fit along this spectrum?

SOA is well-suited for large, complex, enterprise-wide systems that require integration with many heterogeneous applications and services. It is also well-suited for applications that have many ...