Evolution of Caching Technologies In an early stage, caching started with simply putting data into memory (mostly as local cache) in the same processing node (usually an application server). Gradually it evolved with externalizing the cache as a separate process and eventually re-engineered towards distributed computing architecture. In the current landscape, most of the caching system architecture uses in-memory data grid technology, which is essentially a part of in-memory computing…
Read MoreAWS App Mesh vs. Istio: A Comparison Of Service Mesh
Context As Microservices architecture isolates system functionalities into multiple independent services, the communication mechanism between these services plays a key role for a scalable, available, and high-performance architecture. A service mesh is an infrastructure layer that manages service communication in a transparent and language-independent way. It helps to configure how service instances perform critical actions such as service discovery, load balancing, data encryption, and authentication and authorization. Applicability The service mesh…
Read MoreTech Tip #6 – Use C4Model for documenting software architecture in a modern way
Tech Tip: Using C4Model for documenting software architecture in a modern way using the technique created by a software architect (Simon Brown). It has been inspired by Unified Modeling Language and 4+1 architectural view model and adds the modern approach to simplify documenting and visualizing the software architecture. C4Model is the modern way to document and visualize software architecture with different levels of abstractions – Context, Container, Components and Code…
Read MoreTech Tip #5 – Use Industry Standards And Guidelines For Documenting And Evaluating Software Architecture
Tech Tip: Using industry standards and guidelines for documenting and evaluating software architecture provides consistency and common semantics across the entire organization. Software architecture is a well-defined field and while there are informal practices in terms of documenting and evaluating architecture, the recommendation is to be aware of industry standards and apply them consistently. If you are new to the field of software architecture, click here to read about the…
Read MoreTop AWS reInvent 2021 Takeaways for Architects
AWS re:Invent 2021 (Nov 29 – Dec 3, 2021) has been the key highlight in the technology community particularly after the pandemic. As an in-person attendee, it was a great opportunity to learn, discuss, understand, and experience the tech event. While there are many viewpoints, this article summarizes the top AWS reInvent 2021 takeaways for architects to help them be aware of the broader context. #1 – Don’t forget the…
Read MoreTech Tip #4 – Use Lens IDE as a unified tool to manage Kubernetes cluster
Abstraction, flexibility, transparency, and avoiding vendor lock-in are key factors in choosing the suitable Kubernetes management solution. Lens Desktop is a developer-friendly IDE to manage Kubernetes built using opensource & cloud-native principles and a great offering as a unified tool to manage Kubernetes cluster. Lens IDE is a developer-friendly offering as a unified tool to manage the Kubernetes cluster across cloud vendors, and on-premises Kubernetes in a similar way. This…
Read MoreTech Tip #3 – Understand DevOps ecosystem to apply trending patterns
Understanding DevOps ecosystem and related CI/CD tools to automate manual operations and apply trending patterns like GitOps, DevSecOps, MLOps, AIOps, DataOps, and many more emerging practices is an essential aspect for Software Architects. Key Concepts DevOps is the capability to build the organizational ability to deliver business value by combination of people, process and technology. Technology is only the part of the system and an enabler but DevOps lifecycle requires invovlement from both…
Read MoreTechnology Tip #2 – Use dive as a tool for optimizing Docker or OCI image
Use dive as a tool for optimizing and exploring a Docker image, layer contents, and discovering ways to shrink the size of your Docker or OCI image Installation Instructions on Mac Machine Install using brew: Examples of running dive for optimizing Docker images Running dive as part of CI pipeline with arguments to fail/pass the build. For example, the below will fail the build if wasted bytes is more than 1024…
Read MoreTechnology Tip #1 – Use Vegeta as a Modern Load Testing Tool
Use Vegeta as a modern HTTP load testing tool written in Golang. It is built out of a need to drill HTTP services with a constant request rate. It can be used both as a command line utility and a library Installation Instructions on Mac Machine Install ITERM Terminal – ITERM2: Install JSON Monitoring Tool – JPLOT: Install JSON Aggregation CLI – JAGGR: An example of running load testing using…
Read MoreTop 10 Tips You Should Know As A Modern Software Architect
With fast-paced technology evolution, software architecture is evolving each day with new patterns and technology choices. This article summarizes the top 10 tips you should know as a modern software architect and the list is not limited but evolving. #1 – Be observant of frameworks providing acceleration towards Microservices Architecture (MSA) With Microservices Architecture in mainstream adoption, most of the frameworks either have started remodeling themselves as per Microservices Architecture.…
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