Project Overview
While starting off as a proper project, this grew to be my personal playground for deeply learning about microservices and complex server architectures. What began as a practical application evolved into a comprehensive exploration of distributed systems, containerization, orchestration, and modern DevOps practices.
Tech Stack:
- Rust (primary language)
- Rocket web framework
- Docker and Kubernetes
- Apache Kafka
- MongoDB, PostgreSQL, MariaDB
- Redis
- NGINX (reverse proxy)
Project Evolution
From Project to Playground
This architecture started with a specific goal but transformed into something more valuable: a learning laboratory for understanding distributed systems at a deep level. Rather than following tutorials, I built a production-grade system from scratch, encountering and solving real problems along the way.
Core Features:
- Quick local development with Docker Compose
- Service routing with NGINX as reverse proxy
- Independent service deployment and scaling
- Message-driven communication via Kafka
- Multi-database architecture
- Distributed caching with Redis
- Health monitoring and observability
My Personal Take Away
In terms of educational value, the most important part of this project was not the microservices themselves, but rather all I had to learn to make the microservices work cohesively:
- Containerization: Docker image optimization, multi-stage builds, security hardening
- Networking: Service discovery, load balancing, routing, DNS resolution
- Cloud Deployments: Infrastructure as code, deployment strategies, rollback procedures
- Kubernetes: Pods, services, deployments, ingress, persistent volumes, secrets management
Ultimately, I learned a lot about writing resilient applications and the benefits of modern development practices, along with DevOps methodologies. Much of what I learned will be useful when developing distributed applications in general, whether those applications are microservices or monolithic applications.
Conclusion
This microservice architecture project transformed from a specific implementation goal into a comprehensive learning experience that touched every aspect of modern distributed systems development. While the original project intent may have been practical, the true value lies in the depth of understanding gained through hands-on experimentation.
The skills acquired (containerization, orchestration, distributed transactions, event-driven design, polyglot persistence) are transferable to any distributed system, whether microservices or well-designed monoliths. Understanding when to use microservices and when not to is just as valuable as knowing how to build them.
This project proves that the best learning comes from building real systems, encountering real problems, and solving them with production-grade solutions. The playground approach (treating the project as a laboratory rather than just an application) enabled exploration and experimentation that taught far more than following tutorials ever could.
Ultimately, I learned a lot about writing resilient applications and the benefits of modern development practices. Much of what I learned will be useful when developing distributed applications in general, whether those applications are microservices or monolithic applications. And that's the real victory.