Integration Infrastructure
Integration Infrastructure refers to the set of tools, practices, and protocols that enable different components of a software system (developed by autonomous, empowered product teams) to communicate and work together effectively.
Goal
The primary goal of Integration Infrastructure is to facilitate seamless communication and data exchange between different parts of a software product, ensuring that the system operates as a cohesive whole.
Context
Given the scale of the products that we build today there is often a need to modularise the system into smaller, more manageable components to reduce the cognitive load of understanding the system as well as to reduce the blast radius of changes. Once we have separate modules we need a way for them to communicate and work together effectively.
Types
| Type | Description | Use Case | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Message Buses | Enable asynchronous communication between services, decoupling the production and consumption of messages. | Event sourcing, logging, and analytics. | Apache Kafka, RabbitMQ |
| API Gateways | Provide a single entry point for managing external and internal APIs, simplifying client access. | Exposing services to external clients, enforcing security and access control. | Kong, Apigee, AWS API Gateway |
| Service Mesh | Facilitates service-to-service communication in microservices architectures, providing capabilities like load balancing and service discovery. | Microservices-based systems, where services need to communicate with each other. | Istio, Linkerd, Consul |
| Webhooks | Enable real-time communication between systems, allowing one system to notify another about specific events. | Notifications, data synchronisation. | Zapier, IFTTT, GitHub Webhooks |
Inputs
| Artifact | Description |
|---|---|
| User Stories | Detailed descriptions of the functionality, performance criteria, and interfaces needed for each component. |
Outputs
| Artifact | Description | Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Documented Integration Strategy | A plan outlining the chosen integration patterns, tools, and standards for communication between systems. | Provides a clear roadmap for development teams and promotes consistency. |
| Integrated Systems | Software applications capable of seamlessly exchanging data and functionalities as defined by the integration infrastructure. | Enables efficient data flow and a unified user experience across various systems. |
Anti-patterns
- Tightly Coupled Systems: Designing systems where components are heavily dependent on each other's inner workings, leading to a fragile overall structure.
- Over-Engineering: Implementing overly complex solutions that add unnecessary overhead and complexity.