Configuring Microservices: The Challenges
Managing application configuration in a traditional monolith is pretty straight forward. The configuration is usually externalized in a properties files on the same server as the application. If you need to update the configuration you simply amend the properties file and restart the application. Things can get a little tricker with microservices, but why is that?
Microservices are composed of many small, autonomous services, each with their own configuration. Rather than a centralised properties file (like the monolith), configuration is scattered across multiple services, running on multiple servers. In a production environment, where you likely have multiple instances of each service, configuration management can become a hefty task.