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Introduction
Microservices, commonly referred to as microservice architecture, imply an architectural method that composes an application as an amalgamation of services. Microservice architecture has a distinctive method of developing software systems focusing on building a function module with well-defined interfaces and operations. It centers on making a single application as a collection of small services, running its process, and communicating with lightweight mechanisms without disrupting each other. Microservice applications have higher maintainability and testability, are arranged around business potentialities, and are often owned by a smaller group. They enable the fast, recurrent, and dependable delivery of compound and large software. Over-the-top, or OTT, media platform refers to the media utility provided directly to viewers through the internet and includes Amazon Prime, Netflix, HBO Max, and Showmax. The research aims to assess how these avenues apply microservices architecture in their operations and service provision.
Scope of the Research
The research paper has the following aims:
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To assess the components of microservices architecture
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To analyze how various OTT platforms use microservice software
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To investigate the trends of microservice architecture in OTT platforms.
Components of Microservices
Microservice architecture has become the most preferred architecture in the industry as it offers intelligent services using simple routing mechanisms leading to higher service autonomy and decoupling (Li et al., 2019). It comprises the user experience layer, cloud eco-system, security, container eco-system, DevOps, monitoring, and notification. Microservice architecture develops protocols that divide into specific functions working autonomously through conveying instructions that can be executed using the primary jargon that is feasible (Dragoni et al., 2017). Unlike monolithic applications, which have many limitations, Microservices have proven to be efficient in numerous ways as it is more of an independent deployment. One significant advantage is that it implements a limited number of functionalities. Microservice has a smaller code base, thus inherently limiting a bugs scope (Kratzke, 2018). Other notable advantages of Microservices include agile delivery, diversified technologies and distributed teams, token-based security, lightweight services, extensibility, independent scalability, and multi-speed IT models.
How the Software Operates
Developers assess the performances of the programs directly and independently as an entirety, thus allowing them to develop slow conversions to alternate models of a specific microservice architecture. The software can also be modified to interact with the former with continuous integration (Cerny et al., 2018). This makes software maintenance easier because replacing the program does not require a complete restarting of the system. Concerning OTT, consumers primary challenge is privacy complaints as they allow for data-driven advertising on their platforms (Li, 2020). The other limitation vested on interlinked microservice architectures is the technical sequence used to enable the transmission of instructions that would allow it to run.
Trends of Microservice Architecture in OTT Platforms
Previous architectures had OSS, or otherwise operational support systems, and BSS, or business support systems, that were inflexible and unresponsive to rapidly-transforming consumer necessities (Dragoni et al., 2017). They were transactional and needed automation, unlike Microservices, which are the opposite and are self-sufficient programs capable of performing specified operations wholly. In mainstream companies, the user layer component and cloud ecosystem are the most crucial and are interdependent. Cloud ecosystem comprises routing requests to consumers, load balancing consumer requests, and cache/stockpiling the responses for optimal performance.
The consumers and companies can track services and patterns using API Gateway, Service discovery, Load balancer, Caching, and Circuit breakers. Amazon Web services current trend is implementing to observe consumers as they build their microservices is API-driven, event-driven, and data-driven (Bulkan et al., 2018). On the other hand, Netflix is adopting the Open Source Operational Support System, which entails the development of the main architecture using renowned Spring Boot with a diversified characteristic of fostering faster growth of individual constituents.
OTT was initially a platform for the younger generation of those under 35 years in video consumption, but that has changed immensely. It has become a leading service for video consumption for those over the age of 50 years and is almost becoming as popular as pay-tv in that age group in the United States and parts of Europe. The tremendous rise was observed in the year 2020 when plays and musicals were prohibited, and lockdowns were imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. According to Li et al. (2019), consumer reliance on OTT was boosted during the first wave, with Netflix being the biggest gainer getting a double global subscriber base and a 40% rise in streaming hour. Other OTT platforms such as Amazon Prime, HBO max, and Showmax have since then tried to improve and expand on their microservices to attract more audience and gain traction that can counter that of Netflix.
Conclusion
Utilizing microservices is a method of designing video site to be nibble and is practicable in platforms as a cloud. OTT providers understand the importance of scaling, and much is performed in the OTT sectors to use the microservice architectures. As the research also establishes, the main aspects that will determine who stays afloat and remains the giant in the mainstream media depend on the content, creativity, and best value propositions for advertisers.
References
Bulkan, U., Iqbal, M., & Dagiuklas, T. (2018). Load-balancing for edge qoe-based vnf placement for ott video streaming. 2018 IEEE Globecom Workshops (GC Wkshps), 16. Web.
Cerny, T., Donahoo, M. J., & Trnka, M. (2018). Contextual understanding of microservice architecture: Current and future directions. ACM SIGAPP Applied Computing Review, 17(4), 2945. Web.
Dragoni, N., Giallorenzo, S., Lafuente, A. L., Mazzara, M., Montesi, F., Mustafin, R., & Safina, L. (2017). Microservices: Yesterday, today, and tomorrow. In M. Mazzara & B. Meyer (Eds.), Present and ulterior software engineering (pp. 195216). Springer International Publishing. Web.
Kratzke, N. (2018). A brief history of cloud application architectures. Applied Sciences, 8(8), 1368. Web.
Web.Li, Z., Seco, D., & Sánchez Rodríguez, A. (2019). Microservice-oriented platform for internet of big data analytics: A proof of concept. Sensors, 19(5), 1134. Web.
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