Overview
In a microservices architecture, each service is self-contained and communicates over standard protocols (like HTTP or gRPC). This contrasts with 'monolithic' architectures where all components are tightly coupled.
Advantages
- Independent Deployment: Update one service without affecting others.
- Scalability: Scale specific services based on their individual load.
- Technology Diversity: Different services can use different languages or databases.
Challenges
- Increased operational complexity.
- Difficulty in maintaining data consistency.
- Network latency between services.