Microservice Architecture Reconstruction from Bytecode Graphs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Microservice systems lack a holistic, centralized view due to their distributed nature, making traditional static code analysis inadequate for detecting issues arising from interactions between distinct microservices, and manual SAR is time-consuming and error-prone, especially when source code is not available.
Innovation Solution
A method and system utilizing GraalVM Native Image to analyze bytecode, extracting service and domain views through Graal IR, generating a service dependency graph and context map, and visualizing these views to provide a comprehensive understanding of the system architecture.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional static code analysis is used to analyze microservice systems, then source code can be examined, but it cannot detect issues arising from interactions between distinct microservices and lacks a holistic view
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the microservice system into distinct services with clear boundaries, analyzing each service independently while tracking their interactions through the bytecode. This allows the system to handle complexity by processing one service at a time while maintaining an overall system view through the graph-based intermediate representation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a graph-based intermediate representation as an intermediary layer between the bytecode and the final architectural view. This intermediate representation models control-flow and data-flow dependencies, serving as a mediator that translates low-level bytecode into high-level architectural insights, enabling detection of interaction issues without requiring direct examination of all service interactions.
2Loss of information
If manual Software Architecture Reconstruction is performed, then a system-centered view can be obtained, but it is time-consuming and error-prone
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables the system to perform its own architecture reconstruction automatically by analyzing its own bytecode. The microservice system analyzes itself by extracting class information, method signatures, and dependency relationships from the bytecode, eliminating the need for manual intervention and reducing both time and errors associated with manual SAR.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical analysis with automated computational analysis. Instead of manually tracing control flow and data flow through the system, the patent uses computational algorithms to parse bytecode, extract relationships, and generate the graph-based intermediate representation, significantly reducing analysis time while maintaining completeness.
3Measurement precision
If source code is required for analysis, then detailed code examination is possible, but analysis cannot be performed when source code is not available
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses bytecode as a copy or representation of the source code's structural information. Bytecode contains sufficient metadata about class hierarchies, method signatures, and dependency relationships to perform architectural analysis without requiring the actual source code files. This copying approach maintains analysis precision while enabling adaptability to systems where source code is unavailable.
4Adaptability or versatility
If distributed microservice architecture is used, then scalability and independence are improved, but a holistic system view becomes difficult to obtain
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the analysis of individual microservices with the tracking of their interactions into a unified graph-based intermediate representation. By combining service-level information with inter-service dependency relationships in a single graphical model, the patent enables obtaining a holistic system view while preserving the scalability and independence benefits of the distributed architecture.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems for analyzing architectures of microservice systems are described. An example method includes generating, based on an analysis of a bytecode of a microservice system, a graph-based intermediate representation that models control-flow and data-flow dependencies between a plurality of microservices of the microservice system. The method then includes parsing the graph-based intermediate representation to extract one or more components of the microservice system, and generating, based on the one or more components and a list of attributes for each of the plurality of microservices, a service dependency graph that represents a service view of the microservice system and a context map that represents a domain view of the microservice system. The method additionally includes visualizing, based on the service view and the domain view, an architecture of the microservice system. An example system includes one or more processors that are configured to implement the above-described method.