The advantages of developing an architecture based on microservices are becoming more evident to businesses of all sizes. Microservices provide several advantages over monolithic systems, including cheaper costs, improved performance, less downtime, and the capacity to grow.
But even once a monolith is subdivided into several microservices, a vital issue still has to be answered: how do these services communicate with one another? In this article, I will discuss gRPC, including how it may facilitate effective communication between microservices.
What is gRPC?
gRPC, or Google Remote Procedure Call, is an open-source remote procedure call (RPC) system developed by Google. gRPC is based on the HTTP/2 protocol and provides a framework for developers to create applications that communicate with each other in a fast, efficient way.
gRPC sends data using binary instead of text, making data transfer more efficient and reducing the time it takes for information to travel between services.
In addition, gRPC is language-agnostic; developers can use any language they choose—from Java to Python—to create applications that communicate through gRPC. As a result, developers are able to make code changes in one language without having to worry about how this will impact the other language.
Advantages of gRPC over Traditional RPCs
When compared to traditional RPCs, gRPC offers several advantages:
Ease of Use: gRPC is easy to set up and use, making it ideal for developers who are just starting out with microservices.
Low Latency: gRPC's binary data transfer and HTTP/2 protocol helps reduce latency, resulting in faster communication between services.
Scalability: The ease of use and low latency provided by gRPC make it easier to scale applications as needed. Additionally, gRPC's streaming capabilities allow developers to send and receive data in real-time.
Why use gRPC for communication between microservices?
We need a contemporary inter-process communication mechanism that is both scalable and more efficient than RESTful services to tackle the problems connected with RESTful services. Enter gRPC, a cutting-edge RPC framework that is open-source.
The binary encoding format protocol buffer is the foundation for the gRPC framework, built atop the HTTP/2 protocol. It has robust typing, support for several languages, and streaming capabilities on both the client and server sides.
A client application may use gRPC to call a method on a distributed server application running on a remote computer. This is done in the same manner as if the function were running locally.
The REST protocol through HTTP has become the de facto standard for utilizing the Public API. You may consider utilizing gRPC for private APIs; however, you need to be mindful of the trade-offs of adopting a new technological stack compared to the advantages of using gRPC. Additionally, enabling support for gRPC on a browser-based application is a complex process.
Using gRPC for all internal communication and placing an API Gateway or BFF in front of the microservices is one of the various architectures that may be built using gRPC. There are other viable designs as well.
Protocol Buffers or ProtoBufs
gRPC relies on protocol buffers or protobufs to send data between services. Protobufs are a language-neutral, platform-neutral, and extensible mechanism for serializing structured data. A protobuf consists of fields that specify the type of data being sent such as an
integer
string
list
along with the data itself. This allows services to quickly and easily send structured data between each other.
Comparing the gRPC protocol with the HTTP API
The gRPC architecture, at its most fundamental level, is intended for use in any situation where effective communication is of the utmost importance. This is the first significant distinction when compared to the HTTP API. Two cooperating websites are not the same as two independent microservices.
For instance, the ASP.NET application that consumes the API made available by another website develops in a manner that is separate and distinct from the website itself. The connection between the owner of an API and its users is still rather slack, even though there is still no practical assurance that the HTTP API will change while maintaining backward compatibility with all its callers.
Conclusion:
If you are looking for an efficient communication protocol that can handle the complexities of microservices architecture, then gRPC is an ideal option. It will provide your application with a solid foundation for communication and ensure that your API is secure and extensible. By utilizing gRPC, you can enjoy the benefits of robust typing, streaming capabilities, language neutrality and full bi-directional communication without sacrificing speed or security. So if you are ready to take your microservices architecture to the next level, gRPC is an ideal choice. ​​