Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA)

SOA is a style of architecture based on service. A service is a well-defined and self-contained functionality. In this architecture, different services communicate with each other to perform some activity. These services are loosely-coupled and service need not know the technical details (Programing Language) of another service that it is interacting with. Basically, SOA consists of a service consumer and a service provider. The former requests for some service while the latter executes the service and returns the result for the request.

     

         Advantages of SOA 

Flexibility 

SOA gives you the flexibility to write various components of your architecture in whatever language and platform you choose to. So this means, you could write the client facing side in a more dynamic and productive language like Python / Ruby / JavaScript and write the performance critical components in lower level languages like Java or C. 

Higher Availability and Salability 

SOA a Multi-layered architecture can be individually clustered with appropriate load balancing to scale up the system. As we know redundancy is the key for high availability SOA achieve redundancy by introducing redundant elements via clustering. 

Loosely Coupling 

Loosely coupled system support for late or dynamically binding to other components while running, and can mediate the difference in the component’s structure, security model, protocols, and semantics, thus abstracting volatility. 

Re-usability 

SOA compliance to web services and hence applications running on either platform can also consume services running on the other as web services that facilitate reuse. 

Disadvantages of SOA  

Complex Service Management 

When services interact they exchange messages to tasks. the number of messages may go in millions. It becomes a cumbersome task to handle a large number of messages. 

High Cost 

SOA is costly in terms of human resource, development, and technology.