Preface
Hi! This is Volare.
Today, we would like to dip into the evolution of the service server architecture and the unique Micro Chain Structure of the Volare network inspired by it. In this post, we will look at different types of server architectures from the perspective of the existing blockchain systems.
Monolithic Architecture
The monolithic architecture is a traditional model of software programs, composed of integrated units that are self-contained and are independent of other applications. It’s large-scale single computing with one common code base that combines all business elements together. To modify such an application, the entire system stack needs to be updated by accessing the code base and building and deploying an updated version of the service-side interface. This causes the update to be very restraining and time-consuming.
The advantage of a monolithic architecture is that all features (services) are developed in the same development environment, which makes them less complex and provides for high availability server development environment. The downside, however, is that modifying a single module requires redistribution of the entire application, and a longer time is required to start-up, build and deploy the server. In addition, it is difficult to apply suitable technologies and configure the system according to the characteristics of the service, such as services requiring large traffic and complex transaction processing.
Micro Service Architecture
A micro-services architecture is an architectural method that leverages a set of independently deployable services. It is structured by a loose coupling of services, which improves modularity and flexibility in understanding, developing, and testing services by splitting them into smaller pieces. The services can be developed, deployed, and scaled-out independently, making simultaneous development of various services in parallel possible. Services that are divided into smaller groups will not affect each other and play different independent roles while stressing the importance of the principle of single responsibility. Therefore, an error occurring on one service will not affect other services.
The advantages of a micro-service architecture include service-specific fault isolation and the ability to independently develop and deploy services. In addition, services that are newly added or modified can be quickly built and deployed. On the downside, however, the small services are decentralized, which makes them difficult to manage, and the protocols required for the loose coupling of each service are difficult to develop.
BlockChain and Architecture
With Ethereum making it possible to deploy Smart Contracts, numerous dApps have sprung up, each becoming a service. However, as the number of dApps grew, many services became available on the Ethereum network, which forced the expansion of services and the system.
CryptoKitty is an online game based on blockchain technology and the Ethereum platform. The game nurtures virtual pets, where you can collect or breed cat characters and buy and sell them using cryptocurrency. Designed on blockchain technology, the game attracted many users who took interest from the onset of the game launch. In proportion to the gaining popularity of the CryptoKitty service, traffic on the Ethereum network has increased dramatically. Due to the nature of the Ethereum network that requires all nodes to participate in the consensus process of all transactions, the increase in traffic has placed a heavy load on the entire Ethereum network, which in turn, has led to performance degradation of other services in the network (deFi, exchange, ICO projects, etc.).
We have determined that these problems were similar to the shortcomings of the monolithic architecture, which makes it difficult to apply suitable technologies and configure the system according to the characteristics of the service, such as services requiring large traffic and complex transaction processing. As such, we felt that the isolation of failures between services and the maintenance of the system through loose coupling are important for the viable commercialization of blockchain technology. We’ve realized Micro Service Architecture fits into such requirements and look into ways to apply such an architecture to the blockchain.
Next time, we’ll look at how Volare leveraged the micro services architecture for scalability in blockchain technology.
References
https://medium.com/webeveloper/microservice-architecture%EB%9E%80-ca9825087050
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