Large applications are often split into microservices. Different teams work on different services, each service can be deployed independently, and if one service goes down, others keep running. This is how big companies scale.
This project teaches distributed systems thinking. You'll learn how services talk to each other, how to handle failures, and how to trace requests across multiple services. These are advanced concepts used in real production systems.
You'll understand the tradeoffs. Microservices add complexity - now you have network calls between services, multiple databases, and harder debugging. But they also give you flexibility and scalability. Knowing when to use them is valuable.
Microservices are used by many large companies. They let teams work on different parts of an application independently. Understanding microservices architecture makes you more valuable as a developer.
This project teaches you about distributed systems - when your application is split across multiple services that talk to each other. You'll learn how services communicate and how to handle failures.
You'll also learn when microservices are useful and when they're overkill. For small apps, one server is fine. For large teams and complex apps, microservices help. Knowing the tradeoffs is important.
Split a monolithic application into microservices that communicate via REST and message queues. Learn service discovery, inter-service communication, distributed error handling, and how to maintain data consistency across services.
Split application into 3+ microservices
Service-to-service communication via REST
Event-driven communication using RabbitMQ or Kafka
API Gateway as single entry point
Service discovery mechanism
Distributed logging with correlation IDs
Health check endpoints for each service
Circuit breaker pattern for fault tolerance
Retry logic with exponential backoff
Design service boundaries correctly
Implement inter-service communication patterns
Handle distributed transactions
Build resilient microservices
Implement service discovery
Debug distributed systems
User Service: Authentication, user profiles, permissions
Product Service: Product catalog, inventory, pricing
Order Service: Order processing, order history
Notification Service: Email, push, in-app notifications
API Gateway: Request routing, authentication, rate limiting
Implement saga pattern for distributed transactions
Handle partial failures gracefully
Use message queues for asynchronous communication
Implement circuit breaker with Opossum or similar
Add correlation IDs to trace requests across services
Set up centralized logging with Winston
Containerize services with Docker
Microservices Basics: Search for "microservices explained" or "microservices vs monolith".
RabbitMQ: RabbitMQ tutorials for message queuing between services.
Service Discovery: Look up "service discovery pattern" for finding services dynamically.
Circuit Breaker: Search for "circuit breaker pattern" and check out Opossum library.
API Gateway: Read about "API gateway pattern" for routing requests.
Docker: Docker docs for containerizing each service. Start with basic containers.
Microservices Pattern: Search for "microservices architecture explained" to understand the concept.
Service Communication: Look up "REST vs message queue" to learn communication patterns.
RabbitMQ: RabbitMQ tutorials for message queue basics.
Circuit Breaker: Search for "circuit breaker pattern" - it prevents cascade failures.
Docker: Docker getting started guide. You'll need containers for microservices.
API Gateway: Search for "API gateway pattern" to learn about routing requests.
Services can be deployed independently
System handles service failures gracefully
Requests can be traced across services
Circuit breaker prevents cascade failures
Event-driven communication works reliably
API Gateway routes requests correctly
Hint: Start with a working monolith, then extract one service at a time. Don't try to build everything distributed from the start. Microservices add complexity, so understand the tradeoffs.
Submit Your Project
Once you've completed this project, submit your GitHub repository link below: