Basic Requirements for a Ruby on Rails Microservice Application

Most Rails applications are monolithic, which refers to the process of having the entire application in one place. Monolithic applications handle everything, from the small tasks to the big ones. While this might be the most common approach, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t connect the apps together to create microservices. You need to make sure you meet the basic requirements before moving forward with this process, though.

Properly Written Monoliths

If you break a monolith up into microservices, the microservices will only be as good as the original monolith application. If the application is written poorly, the microservices will run on badly written code. That will make it difficult for the microservices to work together to create the desired outcome. Because of that, it is essential that you start with an application that has clean code. A failure to do so will make it impossible to optimize your microservice application.

Create Well-Defined Boundaries

When you create microservices, you will have various components at work. You need each component to work unimpeded, without getting in the way of other components. You can accomplish that by creating well-defined boundaries for each of your microservices. Define each task and the jobs associated with that task in order to get the best results.

Implement a Backup Plan

Whenever you run a microservice application, there is a chance that one or more of the components will go down, but the app as a whole will still be up. Losing some of the app’s functionality can create a serious problem for you.

For example, if a membership site uses a microservice app, someone might be able to sign up and pay for the service, but then he might not be able to access the content. That can create a real headache since the person will feel as if he got scammed.

You need to plan for issues with the system so you can minimize the downtime. You can do this by employing a CircuitBreaker that can detect when something is amiss. You can also make the application aware of all of the components that are needed to run properly, and then have it shut down when something isn’t working. This strategy will allow you to fix the problem before people get shut down halfway through the application.

While there are lots of benefits to running microservice applications, you need to make sure you are prepared to take this project on. By starting with the right application and ending with a backup plan, you will be ready to get the most out of microservices.