Module Details

Module Code: SOFT8025
Title: Scalable Microservices
Long Title: Scalable Microservices
NFQ Level: Advanced
Valid From: Semester 2 - 2020/21 ( January 2021 )
Duration: 1 Semester
Credits: 5
Field of Study: 4814 - Computer Software
Module Delivered in: 4 programme(s)
Module Description: Microservices are singular in terms of their responsibility and can be independently scaled, tested and deployed. Services developed using this approach are built around business capabilities using best practices from domain-driven-design and are autonomous and isolated. In this module the student will learn to build, automate, scale and manage a distributed system created from a number of collaborating components represented as microservices.
 
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module the learner will be able to:
# Learning Outcome Description
LO1 Apply a framework technology to develop a microservices based application.
LO2 Design a distributed application composed of multiple collaborating services in the form of microservices.
LO3 Develop microservices in a distributed environment.
LO4 Interpret and compare microservice design architectures.
LO5 Design the deployment, scaling and management of microservice based applications.
Dependencies
Module Recommendations

This is prior learning (or a practical skill) that is strongly recommended before enrolment in this module. You may enrol in this module if you have not acquired the recommended learning but you will have considerable difficulty in passing (i.e. achieving the learning outcomes of) the module. While the prior learning is expressed as named MTU module(s) it also allows for learning (in another module or modules) which is equivalent to the learning specified in the named module(s).
Incompatible Modules
These are modules which have learning outcomes that are too similar to the learning outcomes of this module. You may not earn additional credit for the same learning and therefore you may not enrol in this module if you have successfully completed any modules in the incompatible list.
No incompatible modules listed
Co-requisite Modules
No Co-requisite modules listed
Requirements

This is prior learning (or a practical skill) that is mandatory before enrolment in this module is allowed. You may not enrol on this module if you have not acquired the learning specified in this section.
No requirements listed
 
Indicative Content
Core Concepts
History of microservices - Service Oriented Architectures (SOA), Web Services, REST, Microservices. Monolithic service architecture versus micro-service architecture; Microservice characteristics. Overview of microservice development frameworks, technologies and programming languages; Single Microservice design. Building microservices using RESTful API and Web Services. Scalability of REST; Logging; Concurrency Control; Asynchronous and synchronous communication; event loops; Testability; Security; Runtime environments.
Developing Microservices
Building a microservices application. Service Registration and discovery process. Load balancing across services and Inter-process communication in the Cloud. Server side load balancing and Client side load balancing. Messaging: HTTP, grpc. Message bus: scalability and performance.
Microservice design and distributed systems.
Patterns for distributed sessions and distributed transaction management: Event sourcing, CQRS, Saga, state machines. Microservices and the CAP theorem. Reliable distributed coordination: RAFT, etcd, zookeeper. Logging. Concurrency issues. Fault tolerance in microservices.
Microservice architecture and scalability
Lightweight containerisation – compare to traditional server virtualisation, approaches, benefits and implementations e.g. Docker. Linux kernel infrastructure for building containers. Security issues with containerisation; Unikernels and microVMs; Function based services: design, security. Automating deployment, scaling and management of containerised applications e.g. kubernetes.
Module Content & Assessment
Assessment Breakdown%
Coursework100.00%

Assessments

Coursework
Assessment Type Practical/Skills Evaluation % of Total Mark 30
Timing Every Week Learning Outcomes 1,2,3
Assessment Description
Mini-projects based on lectures, which will re-enforce the students learning. For example: build a microservices application.
Assessment Type Written Report % of Total Mark 10
Timing Week 9 Learning Outcomes 2,3,4
Assessment Description
Technical report on a topic related to microservices design.
Assessment Type Essay % of Total Mark 20
Timing Week 12 Learning Outcomes 2,4,5
Assessment Description
Essay on the architecture of microservices based applications with a distributed systems focus.
Assessment Type Project % of Total Mark 40
Timing Sem End Learning Outcomes 1,2,3,5
Assessment Description
The purpose of this assessment is to design and develop an application composed of micro-services in a distributed environment.
No End of Module Formal Examination
Reassessment Requirement
Coursework Only
This module is reassessed solely on the basis of re-submitted coursework. There is no repeat written examination.

The University reserves the right to alter the nature and timings of assessment

 

Module Workload

Workload: Full Time
Workload Type Contact Type Workload Description Frequency Average Weekly Learner Workload Hours
Lecture Contact Lecture underpinning learning outcomes. Every Week 2.00 2
Lab Contact Lab supporting content delivered. Every Week 2.00 2
Independent & Directed Learning (Non-contact) Non Contact Independent learning & study. Every Week 3.00 3
Total Hours 7.00
Total Weekly Learner Workload 7.00
Total Weekly Contact Hours 4.00
Workload: Part Time
Workload Type Contact Type Workload Description Frequency Average Weekly Learner Workload Hours
Lecture Contact Lecture underpinning learning outcomes. Every Week 2.00 2
Lab Contact Lab supporting content delivered. Every Week 2.00 2
Independent & Directed Learning (Non-contact) Non Contact Independent learning & study. Every Week 3.00 3
Total Hours 7.00
Total Weekly Learner Workload 7.00
Total Weekly Contact Hours 4.00
 
Module Resources
Recommended Book Resources
  • Chris Richardson. (2018), Microservices Patterns: With examples in Java, Manning Publications, [ISBN: 978-161729454].
Supplementary Book Resources
  • Denis Kolodin. (2019), Hands-On Microservices with Rust: Build, test, and deploy scalable and reactive microservices with Rust, Packt Publishing, p.520, [ISBN: 978178934275].
  • S. Newman. (2019), Monolith to Microservices: Evolutionary Patterns to Transform Your Monolith, O'Reilly Media, [ISBN: 978149204784].
Recommended Article/Paper Resources
  • Agache, Alexandru, et al.. (2020), Firecracker: Lightweight Virtualization for Serverless Applications., 7th {USENIX} Symposium on Networked Systems Design and Implementation NSDI 20.
  • Ongaro, Diego, and John K. Ousterhout.. (2014), In Search of an Understandable Consensus Algorithm, USENIX Annual Technical Conference.
  • Kreps, Jay, Neha Narkhede, and Jun Rao.. (2011), Kafka: A distributed messaging system for log processing., Proceedings of the NetDB.
  • Howard, Heidi, et al.. (2015), Raft refloated: Do we have consensus?, ACM SIGOPS Operating Systems Review.
  • Dragoni, Nicola, et al.. (2017), Microservices: yesterday, today, and tomorrow., Present and ulterior software engineering. Springer..
  • Combe, Theo, Antony Martin, and Roberto Di Pietro.. (2016), To docker or not to docker: A security perspective., IEEE Cloud Computing 3.5.
Other Resources
 
Module Delivered in
Programme Code Programme Semester Delivery
CR_KWEBD_8 Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Web Development 7 Mandatory
CR_KCLDC_9 Master of Science in Cloud Computing 1 Elective
CR_KCLDC_9 Master of Science in Cloud Computing 2 Elective
CR_KSADE_9 Master of Science in Software Architecture & Design 1 Mandatory