5 Core Differences Between Microservices vs Web Services
Web Development
5 Core Differences Between Microservices vs Web Services
Dec 25, 2024
about 8 min read
Ready to enhance your tech systems? Understand the differences between microservices vs. web services in this blog!
When it comes to building effective tech systems, the choice between microservices vs. web services can be overwhelming.
Microservices allow for greater agility and adaptability as your business grows, while web services streamline communication for simpler setups.
In this blog, we’ll will help you determine by clarifying:
What microservices and web services are;
5 main differences between microservices vs. web services;
Highlight how each can benefit your operations;
Real-world applications of the two systems.
Let’s start.
What are Microservices?
Microservices are a software architecture style that structures an application as a collection of small, independent services. Each service focuses on a specific business function and can operate on its own.
These services communicate with each other via APIs (Application Programming Interface) and can be developed, deployed, and maintained independently.
Scalability: Microservices allow individual components to scale independently based on the specific resource demands.
Flexibility: Teams can use different programming languages, frameworks, and databases for each microservice.
Fault Isolation: If one microservice fails, it doesn’t bring down the entire application, ensuring higher fault tolerance.
Drawbacks
Complexity: Managing multiple independent services increases the complexity of development and maintenance.
Communication Overhead: The need for constant inter-service communication can introduce latency and higher resource consumption, requiring additional memory, processing power, and network bandwidth.
What are Web Services?
Web services are standardized methods that allow different systems to communicate over a network. A web service allows different applications, often running on different platforms, to exchange data using standard protocols such as HTTP, SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol), or REST (Representational State Transfer).
Benefits
Interoperability: Web services allow different systems to communicate with each other, no matter what programming language or platform they're built on. This means your applications can work together seamlessly.
Reusability: Once you create a web service, you can reuse it across multiple clients or applications, saving time and effort in development.
Standardized Protocols: Web services use well-established protocols like SOAP and REST, which are widely supported and make integration easier.
Drawbacks
Performance Overhead: Using standardized protocols can slow things down a bit, especially with SOAP-based services, which might add some extra processing time.
Limited Scalability: Web services can be harder to scale because they are often tied to larger, more monolithic systems, making it challenging to grow as your needs change.
How Are Microservices vs Web Services Similar?
Both microservices vs. web services use APIs to enable communication between various components and applications.
1. Use of APIs for Communication
Microservices and web services both rely on APIs to facilitate interactions, allowing different systems to access features and exchange data using standard protocols.
In a microservices architecture, each microservice exposes its features through APIs, allowing other microservices or external applications to access specific data and functionalities. Communication occurs over protocols like HTTP/REST, gRPC, or message brokers such as Kafka.
Web services also use APIs to standardize communication, enabling applications to request and exchange data over a network, typically using protocols like SOAP or REST.
2. Interoperability
Both architectures promote interoperability, allowing diverse systems to work together regardless of the technologies or platforms used to build them.
Microservices support interoperability by allowing each service to be developed independently using various programming languages, frameworks, and databases.
Web services also facilitate interoperability, particularly in enterprise settings, by enabling systems built with different technologies to communicate through standard protocols like SOAP and REST.
However, while they share some similarities in terms of communications between technical elements, microservices vs. web services have clear distinctions from each other.
5 Key Differences Between Microservices vs Web Services
Architectural Style
Microservices: Microservices represent a decentralized architecture, where an application is broken down into smaller, independent services that each handle a specific function. These services can be deployed, scaled, and managed independently.
Web Services: Web services often fit within a more centralized, service-oriented architecture (SOA), where services communicate to complete a task, but are often more tightly coupled to the overall system. They expose functionality over a network but aren't inherently independent of the larger application.
Communication Protocols.
Microservices: Microservices typically use lightweight communication protocols such as HTTP/REST. This flexibility allows for optimized performance based on the needs of individual services.
Web Services: Web services primarily rely on more formal protocols like SOAP and REST, which use HTTP as the underlying protocol. While REST is more common today due to its simplicity, SOAP is still prevalent in enterprise environments due to its robustness and security features.
Development and Deployment
Microservices: Each microservice can be developed, deployed, and maintained independently. This allows for continuous integration and deployment, where different teams can work on different services simultaneously without affecting the whole system.
Web Services: Web services are often more tightly integrated into the larger system. While they can be developed independently, their deployment is often tied to the entire system’s life cycle, meaning updates to one service may require coordination with other parts of the application.
Scalability and Performance
Microservices: Microservices are highly scalable. Each service can be scaled independently based on demand. This granularity allows for more efficient resource utilization and performance optimization.
Web Services: Web services, especially SOAP-based ones, are generally more challenging to scale. Since they are often part of a broader system, scaling a web service may involve scaling the entire application or adding additional resources to support the entire system, even if only one service needs it.
Complexity and Management
Microservices: Managing microservices is more complex due to the distributed nature of the system. Each service requires its own monitoring, scaling, and error handling.
Web Services: Web services are generally simpler to manage in smaller systems but can become complex in large, enterprise environments. Since they are often tightly integrated with the system, management tools may be needed to ensure performance and reliability across the entire service architecture.
In summary, here is the comparison between microservices vs. web services in a nutshell:
Lightweight protocols (e.g., HTTP/REST), flexibility in performance
Formal protocols (SOAP, REST), robust for security and enterprise
Development and Deployment
Independent development, continuous integration and deployment
Integrated with larger system, requires coordination across services
Scalability and Performance
Highly scalable, independent scaling of services
Challenging to scale, scaling often requires entire application
Complexity and Management
More complex to manage due to distributed nature
Simpler to manage in smaller systems, but complexity increases in large environments
Case Study: Microservices in Netflix vs. Web Services in Google Maps
Netflix: A Classic Example for Microservice
Netflix is a prominent example of microservice architecture. Initially, Netflix used a monolithic architecture, but as the user base grew and the need for system scalability became essential, Netflix transitioned to microservices.
Netflix's Microservice Architecture:
Netflix divides its system into hundreds of small microservices. For example:
User Profile Service: Manages user profile information such as watchlists, language preferences, and membership details.
Recommendation Service: Provides movie suggestions based on user behavior and viewing history.
Streaming Service: Handles video streaming for millions of users worldwide.
Billing Service: Manages payments, subscription plans, and invoices for users.
How It Works:
When a user logs in, the User Profile Service checks the user information and returns the relevant data.
When the user selects a movie to watch, the Streaming Service processes the video playback request, while the Recommendation Service suggests other films that the user might like.
If a payment transaction occurs, the Billing Service handles it without affecting other services.
Google Maps API is a prime example of a web service. It provides mapping services via an API interface that other applications can call to retrieve map-related data.
Google Maps Web Service Structure:
Google Maps API offers various methods for external applications to call and retrieve information such as geographical locations, distances, and directions.
Common API Methods:
Geocoding API: Converts addresses into coordinates (latitude, longitude) and vice versa.
Directions API: Provides directions from one location to another.
Distance Matrix API: Calculates distances and travel times between multiple points.
Places API: Provides information about notable places, restaurants, hotels, and nearby locations.
How It Works:
When an application calls the Google Maps API (for example, a delivery app), it can use the Directions API to calculate the route from the delivery location to the customer's address. The response includes detailed directions, travel time, and the optimal route.
The application doesn’t need to store map data locally, as all the information is provided through the Google Maps API, communicating via HTTP and JSON.
Microservices vs. Web Services: Which Is Better For Your Business?
The question of whether microservices or web services are better depends largely on your application's specific requirements, goals, and infrastructure.
Microservices are better suited for large-scale, complex systems that require independent scalability, fault tolerance, and rapid development cycles. They offer flexibility in technology choices and are ideal for organizations that prioritize agility and frequent updates.
Web services, on the other hand, are better for smaller applications, legacy system integration, or cases where standardized cross-platform communication is needed. They offer simplicity and are ideal for systems requiring robust security and transactional integrity.
Need a Hand with Microservices? Golden Owl Solutions Can Help!
At Golden Owl Solutions, we specialize in providing full-cycle IT development, including the design, implementation, and management of microservices architecture. With over 9 years of experience in IT outsourcing and a team of highly skilled tech professionals, we are committed to helping businesses achieve scalability, flexibility, and efficiency through microservices.
Microservices Consulting: We provide expert advice on how to transition from monolithic systems to microservices and how to design scalable, modular architectures.
Development & Implementation: We build microservices from the ground up, ensuring that each service is developed independently, allowing for parallel development and continuous deployment.
Maintenance & Support: Post-launch, our team ensures seamless integration and ongoing support to manage your microservices architecture.
Conclusion
Choosing between microservices vs web services depends on the specific needs of your project. If your application demands the agility, scalability, and flexibility that microservices offer, or if it requires the standardization and cross-platform interoperability that web services provide, making the right choice is crucial for success.
For businesses aiming to adopt microservices for enhanced scalability and efficiency, Golden Owl Solutions offers comprehensive IT development services, guiding you from consulting through to implementation and ongoing support, ensuring your architecture meets your business needs.
FAQS
Q1. Can web services be part of a microservices architecture?
Yes, web services can be used within a microservices architecture. A microservice may expose its functions via a web service, allowing communication through standardized protocols like REST or SOAP. However, not all web services are part of a microservices architecture.
Q2. Which architecture is more scalable: microservices or web services?
Microservices are typically more scalable because each service can be scaled independently based on its needs, while web services are often more tightly coupled to the larger system, making individual scaling more challenging.
Q3. What are the main challenges in managing microservices compared to web services?
Managing microservices can be more complex due to their decentralized nature, requiring careful handling of inter-service communication, fault tolerance, and multiple databases.
Q4. Is RESTful web service a microservice?
A RESTful web service is not exactly the same as a microservice, but it can be used within a microservice architecture.
RESTful Web Service: This is a way for applications to communicate over the internet using standard web protocols like HTTP.
Microservice: This is a way to build large applications by breaking them down into small, independent parts (services) that each handle a specific function.
