The industrial micro-service architecture provides the best technical means for the knowledge transformation and reuse of the industrial Internet platform. Modular components such as algorithms, models, and knowledge can be called and arranged in a “building block” manner to achieve a low threshold and high efficiency. Industrial App development.
Microservices were first proposed by Martin Fowler and James Lewis in 2014. The microservice architecture style is a way to use a set of small services to develop a single application. Each service runs in its own process and uses lightweight Mechanism communication, usually HTTP API, these services are built based on business capabilities and can be deployed independently through automated deployment mechanisms. These services are implemented using different programming languages and different data storage technologies, and maintain a minimum of centralized management.
What is industrial microservices
Industrial microservices are the carrier of the industrial Internet platform. It is a software architecture based on a single functional component that realizes "loosely coupled" application development through modular combination. A microservice is a small application that is oriented to a single function and can be independently deployed. Multiple microservices with different functions and isolated from each other are combined on demand and communicate with each other through API sets to form a large-scale application system with complete functions. . Taking product production as an example, it can be disassembled into multiple micro-service functional modules such as supply chain management, equipment operating status visualization, production scheduling, production line data analysis, and operation records.
In the field of industrial Internet, due to problems such as complex industrial knowledge and high complexity of industrial applications, people in the industry generally believe that the use of microservice architecture will become the mainstream way to develop industrial apps. Foreign mainstream industrial Internet platforms, such as Siemens' Mindsphere, Schneider Eco Struxure, etc., support the development, deployment and management of industrial microservice components through cloud platforms, thereby simplifying industrial APP development.
The difference between industrial microservice architecture and traditional development model
Let's take a look at the traditional web development method, which is generally called Monolithic (monolithic development). All functions are packaged in a WAR package, there is basically no external dependency (except the container), deployed in a JEE container (Tomcat, JBoss, WebLogic), including DO/DAO, Service, UI and other logic.
Monolithic architecture (Monolithic) advantages and disadvantages
Compared with the monolithic architecture, the microservice architecture just makes up for the shortcomings of the monolithic architecture, and realizes agile development and deployment by effectively splitting applications:
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1. A system composed of multiple independent microservices
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2. Microservices are deployed separately and run in their own process
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3. Each microservice is an independent business development
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4. Distributed management
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5. Great emphasis on isolation.
An image of microservices:
X axis: running instances after running multiple load balancers
Y axis: further decompose the application into microservices (sub-library)
Z axis: When the amount of data is large, the service is partitioned (sub-table)
Characteristics of industrial microservice architecture
The reason why mainstream industrial Internet platforms all use microservice architecture as the mainstream way to develop industrial apps is because compared with traditional architecture, microservice architecture has two notable features:
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1. High flexibility in the development and maintenance of industrial microservices
Each microservice can be developed and maintained by different teams using different languages and tools. Any modification or upgrade will not affect other functions of the application; and any modification of the software under the traditional unified overall framework is possible Unexpected impact on the entire application.
-2. Decentralized and distributed execution of industrial microservices operation
Different microservices can be executed in parallel in a distributed manner, the application resource occupancy rate is relatively small, and the data and resources between microservices are physically isolated from each other. The failure of a single service will only cause damage to a single function without causing the entire application to crash.
Microservices support the disruptive innovation of industrial Internet platforms
1. Industrial microservices subvert traditional industrial software development methods
In enterprises, traditional industrial application software such as CAD, CAE, DCS, MES, ERP, SCM is often designed and developed for basic processes or services, and adjusted according to the actual situation of users during the deployment stage. The cost of the entire software development is invested Larger, longer development cycle, and unable to flexibly respond to the individual needs of users. In the industrial Internet platform, industrial microservices can be used to disassemble the above software into independent functional modules to realize the deconstruction of the original production system, and then build a microservice rich in various functions and services on the platform. Service component pool, and call the corresponding micro-service components according to actual needs, carry out high-efficiency and personalized user-oriented industrial App development, and greatly reduce the technical threshold and investment cost of the entire software development. Elite software research and development, which originally required professional teams and strong financial support, began to transform to popular research and development.
2. Industrial microservices break the closed inheritance system of industrial knowledge
In the past, a lot of experience and knowledge in the industrial field stayed in the minds of teachers and veterans. Due to the limitations of personal energy and geographical space, these experience and knowledge can usually only play a role in a small range, and there are also errors and errors. Easy to lose, difficult to promote, difficult to pass on and other issues. Nowadays, when these masters and old experts solidify their own experience and knowledge in the form of software code and convert it into industrial micro-services in the platform, due to the accumulation and open sharing characteristics of the platform, these experience and knowledge become The valuable wealth of the entire enterprise and the entire industry can be shared, learned and used by more people, and more value can be created. At the same time, the new professional and technical personnel can also achieve further improvement and innovation on the basis of fully digesting and absorbing the original knowledge, and promote the continuation and iterative update of the entire industrial knowledge system.
3. Industrial microservices create a new platform and open value ecology
With the construction of the microservice component pool in the industrial Internet platform and the continuous accumulation of industry experience and knowledge, the entire platform can provide third-party developers with many low-threshold, easy-to-operate, and high-efficiency development support methods, forming an industrial App development The platform innovation ecosystem at the core can also provide manufacturing users with customized, highly reliable, and scalable industrial apps or solutions based on industrial microservices, forming a platform application ecosystem centered on value mining and promotion. In the end, a mutual promotion and two-way iterative ecosystem with the industrial Internet platform as a bridge and industrial microservices as the carrier is built.
The role of industrial microservices in the industrial Internet platform
Industrial microservices realize the modularization and softwareization of mechanism model algorithms to support the development and operation of industrial apps in the industrial Internet platform. In the industrial Internet platform, industrial microservices are playing a key role as a link between the previous and the next.
1. Independent debugging, operation and upgrade to improve ease of use and maintainability
Various original mechanism algorithm models extracted based on the experience and knowledge of different industries and different fields usually lack external call interfaces, and it is often difficult to independently debug, operate and upgrade. These mechanism algorithm models need to be integrated by industrial microservices. It can be encapsulated into a single function or service module that can be independently debugged and run to improve ease of use and maintainability.
2. Meet the needs of industrial APP rapid operation and maintenance, continuous iteration and personalized customization
Industrial App development based on industrial microservice modules in the industrial Internet platform can not only take advantage of the parallel development and distributed operation of industrial microservices, it can effectively take advantage of the platform's massive developer access, resource elastic configuration, cloud deployment and operation, etc., but also It can take advantage of the independent isolation and flexible invocation of industrial microservices to overcome the problems of rapid operation and maintenance, continuous iteration, and personalized customization faced by industrial apps.
3. Without professional knowledge, the platform calls industrial microservices to develop industrial apps
The core goal of the development of the industrial Internet platform is to promote the improvement of the overall level of the industry through the accumulation and reuse of industry experience and knowledge, and to create a prosperous and innovative open value ecosystem. Industrial microservices can integrate professional knowledge and IT technology into a "black box" that does not need to care about implementation details. Developers can develop by calling various industrial microservices in the platform without even needing any professional knowledge. Industrial App that solves industry problems.
4. Industrial microservices have universal sharing capabilities, which are convenient for copying and application promotion
On this basis, the platform transforms the previously enclosed professional capabilities within the enterprise into generalized sharing capabilities for the industry and society, and realizes the replication and application promotion of industrial microservice capabilities, thus becoming the engine and assistance of the service industry and service area. Pusher.
Conclusion
The essence of industrial microservices is the softwareization and toolization of experience and knowledge, with the help of specialized tools to create a universal platform. The industrial micro-service architecture provides the best technical means for the knowledge transformation and reuse of the industrial Internet platform. Modular components such as algorithms, models, and knowledge can be called and arranged in a "building block" manner to achieve low threshold and high efficiency. Industrial App development has driven the transformation of industrial software development methods and promoted the formation of platform innovation ecology. The construction of industrial microservice capabilities has become the primary task of the current industrial Internet platform development.