Simon Timms on Microservices Architecture — Episode 128

This week, Jeffrey is joined by return guest, Simon Timms, to discuss microservices architecture.   Simon Timms is a long-time freelance Software Engineer, multi-time Microsoft MVP co-host of ASP.NET Monsters on Channel 9, and also runs the Function Junction Youtube channel. He considers himself a generalist with a history of working in a diverse range of industries. He’s personally interested in A.I., DevOps, and microservices; and is skilled in Software as a Service (SaaS), .NET Framework, Continuous Integration, C#, and JavaScript. He’s also written two books with Packt Publishing: Social Data Visualization with HTML5 and JavaScript and Mastering JavaScript Design Patterns.   Two years ago when Simon was last on The Azure DevOps Podcast, he and Jeffrey discussed Azure Functions and Processes. In their conversation today, they’re focusing on all things microservice-related. Simon has done a lot of work in the space of microservices and has a lot of insight on best practices; when (and when not) to use it; how you run it in production; how to build, test, configure, and deploy; what a visual structure solution looks like for a microservice; how to make a decision if you’re looking at a software system; and much more. If you’ve been wanting to learn more about microservices architecture, this is a not-to-miss episode!   Topics of Discussion: [:38] Be sure to visit AzureDevOps.Show for past episodes and show notes. [1:00] About The Azure DevOps Podcast, Clear Measure, and Jeffrey’s offer to speak at virtual user groups. [1:45] Clear Measure is hiring! Be sure to check out the link in the show notes. [1:55] About Jeffrey’s newest podcast, Architect Tips! [2:19] About today’s episode with Simon Timms. [2:51] Jeffrey welcomes Simon to The Azure DevOps Podcast. [3:38] About today’s discussion with Simon on microservices. [4:54] Microservices: what it is and how it is different from simply splitting up a system into multiple applications. [7:43] Does a microservice architecture have its own version control repository? [8:45] Does Simon tend to have a microservice in its own version control repository, or, does he tend to have many microservices in the same version control repository? [9:38] What are shared dependencies? What does that mean in the context of microservice architecture? [12:26] Key tenets to keep in mind if you’re going to use microservices. [15:09] How to identify if utilizing microservices is the right (or wrong) architecture pattern for what it is that you’re doing. [19:53] A word from Azure DevOps Podcast’s sponsor: Clear Measure. [20:26] What is and isn’t considered a microservice? [25:02] What would cause you to choose one protocol/type of web service/messaging queue over another? [27:40] If Simon was to start a project today, would he say that there is a go-to way to do asynchronous queue-based messaging? [31:35] For someone new to the space of microservices, would Simon recommend NServiceBus as a good start? [33:57] With each different version, do control repositories have their own DevOps pipeline? [34:55] Is there a product or a method that works great when you have half a dozen independent programs running? [38:18] Simon’s recommendations on further resources to check out to learn more. [40:12] Jeffrey thanks Simon for joining the podcast once again!   Mentioned in this Episode: Architect Tips — New video podcast! Azure DevOps Clear Measure (Sponsor) .NET DevOps for Azure: A Developer's Guide to DevOps Architecture the Right Way, by Jeffrey Palermo — Available on Amazon! bit.ly/dotnetdevopsebook — Click here to download the .NET DevOps for Azure ebook! Jeffrey Palermo’s Youtube Jeffrey Palermo’s Twitter — Follow to stay informed about future events! The Azure DevOps Podcast’s Twitter: @AzureDevOpsShow Simon Timms (Blog) Social Data Visualization with HTML5 and JavaScript, by Simon Timms Mastering JavaScript Design Patterns, by Simons Timms Function Junction Youtube Channel ASP.NET Monsters The Azure DevOps Podcast Ep. 23: “Simon Timms on Azure Functions and Processes” NServiceBus Azure Application Insights   Want to Learn More? Visit AzureDevOps.Show for show notes and additional episodes.