Services and networking in Microservices - Cheat Sheet & Quick Revision

Recall & Review

beginner

What is a microservice in the context of services and networking?

A microservice is a small, independent service that performs a specific business function and communicates with other services over a network.

beginner

Why do microservices communicate over a network instead of sharing memory?

Because microservices run independently on different machines or containers, they use network communication to stay loosely coupled and scalable.

intermediate

What is an API Gateway in microservices networking?

An API Gateway is a server that acts as a single entry point for clients to access multiple microservices, handling routing, security, and load balancing.

intermediate

Explain service discovery in microservices networking.

Service discovery is the process where microservices find the network locations of other services dynamically, often using a registry to keep track of available services.

intermediate

What role does load balancing play in microservices networking?

Load balancing distributes incoming network traffic evenly across multiple instances of a microservice to improve reliability and performance.

Which component acts as a single entry point for client requests in a microservices architecture?

A API Gateway

B Service Registry

C Database

D Load Balancer

The API Gateway handles client requests and routes them to the appropriate microservices.

What is the main purpose of service discovery in microservices?

A To encrypt communication

B To store user data

C To find the network location of services dynamically

D To balance network traffic

Service discovery helps microservices locate each other dynamically on the network.

Why do microservices communicate over a network instead of sharing memory?

A Because sharing memory is faster

B Because they run independently and may be on different machines

C Because network communication is less secure

D Because they use the same database

Microservices are independent and distributed, so they communicate over the network.

What does load balancing do in a microservices system?

A Stores service configurations

B Encrypts data in transit

C Monitors service health

D Distributes traffic evenly across service instances

Load balancing spreads incoming requests to multiple service instances to improve performance.

Which of the following is NOT a typical responsibility of an API Gateway?

A Service discovery

B Load balancing

C Routing requests

D Authentication

Service discovery is usually handled by a separate registry, not the API Gateway.

Describe how microservices communicate and the role of networking components like API Gateway and service discovery.

Think about how independent services find and talk to each other.

Explain why load balancing is important in a microservices architecture and how it improves system reliability.

Imagine many people trying to enter a store at once.