Microservices-based software architecture and approaches

Abstract

In the last few years, a revised software architecture style has been developed to design new software applications. This architecture style is particularly suited for use cases in the aerospace industry, from an independently deployable software service. The microservices architectural style develops a single application as a suite of small services, each running in its own process and communicating with lightweight mechanisms. These services are built around business and mission capabilities and independently deployable by fully automated machinery. With microservices, some types of applications become easier to build and maintain when they are broken down into smaller, composable pieces that work together. Each component is then developed separately, and the application is then simply the sum of its constituent components. This is in contrast to a traditional, "monolithic" application which is all developed in one piece. This paper will discuss, several aspects of microservices-based architecture, including several potential use cases for the aerospace industry. The characteristics of microservice-based architecture such as componentization, organization, endpoints and messaging mechanisms. The technical implementation of microservices by reviewing containerization, services communication and related architectural components. Specific open source projects and components that can be utilized to build microservices-based architecture. A sample set of use cases.