Evaluating the monolithic and the microservice architecture pattern to deploy web applications in the cloud

Cloud computing provides new opportunities to deploy scalable application in an efficient way, allowing enterprise applications to dynamically adjust their computing resources on demand. In this paper we analyze and test the microservice architecture pattern, used during the last years by large Internet companies like Amazon, Netflix and LinkedIn to deploy large applications in the cloud as a set of small services that can be developed, tested, deployed, scaled, operated and upgraded independently, allowing these companies to gain agility, reduce complexity and scale their applications in the cloud in a more efficient way. We present a case study where an enterprise application was developed and deployed in the cloud using a monolithic approach and a microservice architecture using the Play web framework. We show the results of performance tests executed on both applications, and we describe the benefits and challenges that existing enterprises can get and face when they implement microservices in their applications.