Time-Dependent Configuration Versioning in Microservices

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Solution Overview

Problem

In microservices architecture, asynchronous updates to configuration content can lead to errors due to inconsistent versions across application components, as each service may operate with different business content, causing issues with application availability and complexity in management.

Innovation Solution

Implementing time-dependent versioning of configuration content, where the configuration repository provides updates ahead of time, allowing each service to store versioning information in a lookup table, ensuring all components have the current version activated simultaneously, thus eliminating asynchronous update delays and errors.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If asynchronous updates are used for configuration content in microservices, then each service can be updated independently, but inconsistencies occur where services operate with different business content

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveIndependent service update capabilityVSAvoidConfiguration consistency

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary action by providing advance notice to software artifacts before configuration content is updated. This allows artifacts to prepare for the upcoming change, ensuring they all transition to the new configuration version simultaneously, thereby maintaining consistency while preserving independent update capability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements feedback by monitoring which software artifacts have adopted the new configuration version and identifying those that have not. This feedback mechanism enables the system to track consistency across services and ensure all artifacts are synchronized before the update is considered complete

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

2Productivity

If configuration content is updated in microservices architecture, then new features can be deployed, but complexity increases in managing synchronized updates across services

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveFeature deployment speedVSAvoidUpdate management complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system introduces an intermediary configuration repository that manages configuration content and coordinates updates across all software artifacts. This intermediary handles the complexity of synchronized updates, allowing services to deploy new features quickly while the repository ensures consistent distribution of configuration changes to all artifacts

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentUS11023227B2Time-dependent activation of configuration content

Publication Date: 2021.06.01 SAP SE

AI summary

Provided is a system and method for time-dependent activation of configuration content for a software application or service in a distributed computing environment. In one example, the method may include receiving a request associated with a software application, reading version information of a configuration object of the software application, the version information comprising different versions corresponding to different configuration content of the configuration object, identifying a currently active version of the configuration object from among the different versions based on activation identifiers of the different versions, and retrieving configuration content corresponding to the currently active version of the configuration object.