Monolith vs microservices comparison - Practice Questions

Challenge - 5 Problems

🧠 Conceptual

intermediate

Key difference in deployment between monolith and microservices

Which statement best describes the deployment difference between a monolithic application and a microservices architecture?

A Monoliths deploy all features as a single unit; microservices deploy each service independently.

B Monoliths deploy services independently; microservices deploy all features as one unit.

C Both monoliths and microservices deploy all features as a single unit.

D Both monoliths and microservices deploy services independently.

💡 Hint

Think about how updates affect the whole system in each architecture.

Monolithic applications bundle all features into one deployable unit, while microservices allow independent deployment of each service.

❓ scaling

intermediate

Scaling approach difference between monolith and microservices

How does scaling differ between monolithic and microservices architectures?

A Monoliths scale individual services; microservices scale entire application.

B Both scale individual services independently.

C Monoliths scale entire application; microservices scale individual services as needed.

D Both scale entire application as a single unit.

💡 Hint

Consider resource usage when only one feature needs more capacity.

Monoliths require scaling the whole app even if only one part needs it; microservices allow scaling only the needed services.

❓ tradeoff

advanced

Tradeoff in complexity between monolith and microservices

Which option correctly describes a tradeoff in system complexity when choosing microservices over a monolith?

A Microservices reduce deployment complexity but increase operational complexity.

B Microservices reduce both deployment and operational complexity.

C Microservices increase deployment complexity but reduce operational complexity.

D Microservices increase both deployment and operational complexity.

💡 Hint

Think about managing many services versus one application.

Microservices simplify deployment by allowing independent updates but add operational complexity due to managing many services.

❓ Architecture

advanced

Impact on fault isolation in monolith vs microservices

Which statement best explains fault isolation differences between monolithic and microservices architectures?

A Monoliths isolate faults better because all code is in one place.

B In microservices, failure in one service usually does not crash the entire system; in monoliths, failure can affect the whole app.

C Both architectures isolate faults equally well.

D In monoliths, failure in one module never affects other modules; in microservices, failure always crashes the entire system.

💡 Hint

Consider how independent services affect system stability.

Microservices isolate faults to individual services, preventing system-wide crashes; monolith failures can impact the whole app.

❓ estimation

expert

Estimating operational overhead for microservices vs monolith

If a monolithic system requires 1 full-time engineer for operations, approximately how many engineers might be needed to operate an equivalent microservices system with 10 independent services, assuming each service requires 0.3 engineer effort for operations?

A 1 engineer

B 5 engineers

C 10 engineers

D 3 engineers

💡 Hint

Multiply the number of services by the effort per service.

10 services × 0.3 engineer effort = 3 engineers needed, which is higher than monolith's 1 engineer.