Microservice architecture structures a software system as independently deployable services aligned with bounded capabilities and communicating through explicit contracts.
Microservices can improve independent evolution and scaling but add network, data, deployment, observability and organizational complexity.
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Definition
Microservice architecture divides a system into services that own bounded capabilities and can be deployed independently. Each service communicates through defined APIs or events and should minimize shared implementation assumptions.
Tradeoff
Independent deployment can support scaling, team autonomy and failure isolation. The cost is distribution: network latency, partial failure, contract evolution, data consistency, security and operations become first-order concerns.
Electronic Artefacts position
VASTE should not be decomposed into microservices merely to appear modern. Runtime boundaries should follow real ownership, scaling or isolation needs. A modular core with explicit contracts can preserve future options.
Limitations
Poorly chosen boundaries create chatty services, duplicated logic and distributed transactions. Microservices also require mature deployment, monitoring and incident practices.
References
See Lewis and Fowler, Event-Driven Architecture, Graph Runtime and Contextual Execution.