Microservices offer benefits like independent deployment but introduce complex failure modes such as cascade failures and retry storms.
The system uses an aggregator service to orchestrate a purchase workflow by making sequential calls to catalog, pricing, inventory, and order services.
Synchronous calls create temporal coupling where a slow service blocks the entire workflow, which can be solved by implementing timeouts and retry logic using an orchestrator.
When a multi-step workflow fails midway, it creates data inconsistency, which can be resolved by implementing the saga pattern with compensating actions.
Implicit dependencies on API schemas cause contract coupling, which can be prevented by using contract testing to validate service interactions before deployment.
Major failures in microservice architectures often stem from the cumulative effect of small, reasonable shortcuts that compromise structural integrity over time.
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