Why build a serverless architecture with microservices and containers?

It would have been almost unimaginable 10 or 15 years ago, but organizations both large and small are developing systems and deploying applications using a completely serverless architecture. And how are they doing it? They're using a two-pronged approach that involves combining microservices development with container-based Docker deployment.

"The serverless architecture trend is all about empowering developers to build applications without having to think about the infrastructure, without having to build for a specific server or a specific server configuration," said Iron.io's CEO Chad Arimura. "They just build an application and it just runs and scales."

Moving away from the monolithic server

All of this has meant a shift away from the traditional, monolithic servers like IBM WebSphere, enterprise service bus (ESB) architecture and full solution stacks like Oracle's SOA Suite and a move toward the use of containers such as Docker and Kuberneties, although those two products alone don't complete the entire infrastructure picture. In terms of tooling and infrastructure, organizations like Google and Amazon are trying to fill the gap. "We're seeing the emergence of higher level services on AWS, like DynamoDB, that allow you to stand up a database and never worry about the physical infrastructure," Arimura said.

The serverless architecture trend is all about empowering developers to build applications without having to think about the infrastructure.

Chad Arimura,
CEO, Iron.io

Contributing in their own way to the serverless architecture trend, Iron.io's platform advances the idea of microcontainer development by using their proprietary IronWorkers to isolate both code and software dependencies to help simplify the task of container deployment and improve scalability.

To hear more about the big trends that are happening in the world of microservices development, container deployment and the impact the serverless architecture is having on both DevOps and software governance, listen to the full podcast between Iron.io's CEO Chad Arimura and TheServerSide's Cameron McKenzie.

What types of benefits has your organization garnered by using Docker containers to create a serverless architecture? Let us know.

Next Steps:

Implementing middleware governance
Simplifying DevOps with Docker Engine
What do developers think about WebSphere?