Init guide environment...
All application logic (Auth, Cart, Payment, etc.) resides within a single project and repository.
The entire application is packaged and deployed as a single file or container. One version for everything.
All components share a single, central database. Cross-component data access is simple and happens via SQL joins.
Components interact via local function calls. This is fast but makes it hard to change one part without affecting others.
Easy to set up, test, and debug locally. No need to manage complex distributed networking during development.
Cannot scale features independently. If only 'Payment' is slow, you must scale the entire monolith.
graph TD
User["👥 User"]
Proxy["🛡️ Reverse Proxy/LB"]
subgraph Monolith ["📦 Monolithic Application Server"]
UI["🎨 UI Layer"]
Auth["🔐 Auth Service"]
Cart["🛒 Cart Service"]
Pay["💳 Payment Service"]
Report["📊 Reporting Service"]
end
DB[("🗄️ Shared Database")]
File["📁 Local File System"]
User -->|HTTPS| Proxy
Proxy -->|Request| Monolith
UI <--> Auth
Auth <--> Cart
Cart <--> Pay
Pay <--> Report
Monolith <--> DB
Monolith <--> File
classDef main fill:#1a1f2b,stroke:#22d3ee,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff
classDef secondary fill:#12161f,stroke:#1de9b6,stroke-width:1px,color:#fff
classDef storage fill:#0d1117,stroke:#ff9100,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff
class Monolith main
class UI,Auth,Cart,Pay,Report secondary
class DB,File storageExplore request flows and scaling challenges
How a request is processed in a monolithic system
Click play to start the visualization
| Aspect | Monolith | Microservices | Key Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scalability | 2/5 | 5/5 | Scale everything vs scale specific services |
| Deployment Speed | 5/5 | 2/5 | One pipeline vs many complex pipelines |
| Maintenance | 4/5 | 2/5 | Everything in one place vs distributed complexity |
| Perf (Network) | 5/5 | 3/5 | In-memory calls vs network RPC/REST overhead |
| Reliability | 2/5 | 4/5 | Single point of failure vs fault isolation |
| Cost (Dev) | 5/5 | 2/5 | Cheaper early on vs expensive orchestration |
| Tech Stack | 1/5 | 5/5 | Locked to one language vs tech polyglotism |