In some cases, the solution needs to work with organizations who want to keep the Database separately from Mendix or want to use the existing database.

1. Solution

First, it is possible to build a Mendix application and to bring your own database. But the question is how your Mendix application can work seamlessly with your existing database tables & data. The solution(s) we are discussing and elaborating here is not applicable in case the existing application is being developed with a Microservices or Service Oriented Architecture, with this architecture mostly the database operations are handled using APIs.

There are ways Mendix can work with existing database tables, but how? Each of our problem statements is different, but it can be broadly classified and sectioned into a few questions that we need to answer and identify the right approach for our problem statement(s)

1.1 Questions

1. How do we want to provide access to the database?

• Full Control to Mendix
• Limited access to user roles, e.g. Read only
• Whether the production needs database administrator intervention to approve the DML statements before the application installation?

2. Are we going to share this database with other applications?

3. Are we migrating the application, which uses your current database, to Mendix?

4. Do you want to migrate Mendix database but a different database like MSSQL to Postgres using Mendix?

1.2 Indium Matrix for using Existing Database in Mendix

Below are the tools and techniques to choose from

1. Database Replication

2. Database Connector

3. Mendix Modeller Configuration

4. Database as a Web Service – REST, OData, SOAP

5. Mendix Platform SDK (Programmatic solution)

We at Indium Software put together our knowledge and experience with the simple matrix to choose the right option at given point in time based on the problem the customer faces.

2. Tools

2.1  Database Replication

2.1.1 About

You can use the Database Replication module to import data from existing databases into your Mendix application. You have the ability to specify the mapping for each table, column, and relationship to your Mendix domain model. Even complex mappings involving multiple table joins can be achieved. The configuration can be done either in the client or using Java.

2.1.2 Typical Use Cases

• Convert an existing database to a Mendix domain model.
• Integrate your programme with a database used by another programme.
• Create mappings between database columns and object attributes
• Map database references to Mendix object references
• Map object attributes based on multiple joined tables

2.1.3 Features

• Support for custom queries for object attributes
• Compatibility with SQL Server 2005 or later, Oracle, AS400, DB2, PostgreSQL, DMS2, and Informix database systems.
• Assistance with non-persistent objects
• Automatic query generation for object attribute values
• Object events are executed when importing

https://marketplace.mendix.com/link/component/160

2.1.4 Advantages

• You can configure how you want to import the data using multiple options which gives the flexibility.
• Easy to use.
• Reduce the efforts of migration.

2.1.5 Limitation

• If  you are using the Excel Importer, then  you will need Excel Importer 3.0 or higher when using this module
• Consumes lots of memory, since all the values need to be remembered to keep the track of all the key changes
• It commits the object even though there are no changes to trigger the events, which can overburden the app.

2.1.6 Database Sync Process (Optional)

The data is updated in both systems thanks to scheduled synchronization between your application and a database used by another application.

Typical use case, during the phases of migration of the application. We do not recommend keeping two copies of the same data. This will cause the data to be inconsistent. So, choose wisely.

2.2  Database Connector

GitHub Link: https://github.com/mendix/database-connector

2.2.1 About

The Database Connector allows for a quick connection to external DBs (databases), offering you the freedom to choose from a wide range of databases and SQL dialects. This enables you to integrate your external data directly into your Mendix application without any limitations.

The connector supports below functionality to execute queries at your databases: 

• Run (Execute) query – For executing SELECT queries and obtaining a list of objects as a result
• Run(Execute)  statement – For executing other DML commands and obtaining either an integer or long value indicating the number of rows affected.
• Run(Execute)  parameterized query – For executing SELECT queries with input parameters, resulting in a list of objects.
• Run(Execute)  parameterized statement – For executing other DML commands with input parameters and getting either an integer or long value representing the number of rows impacted.
• Execute callable statement – For executing a callable statement.

2.2.2 Prerequisites

These are the prerequisites for using this connector:

• A database connection URL address that points to your database
• The username for logging into the database, with respect to the database connection url address
• The password for logging into the database, with respect to the database connection url address
• Add necessary JDBC driver libraries (.jar files) in the userlib directory of Mendix application
  • For e.g., if Mendix app needs to establish the connection to the Cloud PostgreSQL database (jdbc:postgresql://<instance URL>:5432/postgres), we need to put the corresponding PostgreSQL JDBC driver .jar inside the userlib folder.
• Relevant to the Execute Query action: a domain model entity that can be utilized to hold the results of the executed query
  • For instance, if you have a query such as “select name, number from stock”, which has two columns (of string and integer data types respectively), to use the Execute Query action, you must add an entity in the domain model with attributes that match the columns in the query.

2.2.3 Advantages

• Database connector is maintained with single threaded, avoiding memory leakages
• Ability to connect to multiple databases in a single application (a composite microservices)

2.2.4 Limitation

• The parameterized actions are only available with Database Connector versions 3.0.0 and above. For these, it is necessary to use Mendix 8.6.0 and above.            
• You can face memory issues for large data sets.
• Doesn’t have any configurations on thread pool size, connection timeout, etc.

2.3  Mendix Modeller Configuration

These settings can be configured as follows:

• Studio Pro – To access the option to connect to a database in Studio Pro, go to the App Explorer, view the App, open Settings, edit a configuration, and check the Configuration tab. select either the Default Configuration or Active Configuration to display the option.

2.3.1 Prerequisites

• Type: Currently supported RDMS databases
• URL:  Database URL that points to your Database with the port. For example, if you want to connect to the Cloud PostgreSQL database, :
• Database Name: Your Initial Database
• Use Integrated Security, Applicable only for MSSQL (Microsoft SQL Server) Database
• The username and password for logging into the database, relative to the database URL address
• If the database connection requires a self-signed certificate to establish the connection, then add a Certificate in Certificates Tab

2.3.2 Advantages

• Easy to use connection can be achieved easily by proving the details.       

2.3.3 Limitation

• You can connect to the databases which are available in the list, else you need to use connectors.
• For Production in Mendix Cloud, only PostgreSQL is available.
• To use Integrated Security with MSSQL, the Mendix application should be deployed in Windows Server(IIS)

2.4  Database as a Webservice

2.4.1 About

Web Services provide a solution to the interoperability issue by enabling different applications to connect their data. With Web Services, you can transfer data between diverse applications and platforms. To allow Mendix to use an existing database, you can expose the required functionality as a Service, making it easily accessible by Mendix.

Mendix supports the most widely used web service standards, including SOAP, REST, and OData. However, creating a wrapper for an existing database to connect with Mendix may require additional effort. The recent trend towards Service-Oriented Architecture or Microservices promotes API-based connectivity, which is effortless and efficient in Mendix.

On the other hand, if the database is not being utilized by any other applications, it is recommended to use the Data Connector or Data Replication to fully leverage the capabilities of Mendix.

2.4.2 Mendix Data Hub

There are few advantages when using Database as a web service when it is exposed as OData. Mendix provides a premium service called Data Hub.

The Mendix Data Hub Catalog is a comprehensive and open metadata repository that is based on industry standards, allowing developers and business experts to find and explore data resources within their interconnected ecosystem.

Data Hub Connectors enable organizations to integrate their data sources with Data Hub, thereby enhancing the catalog and making the data available to developers. Connecting to data from Mendix applications, Siemens Teamcenter, SAP, and numerous other commonly used enterprise data sources can be done with ease.

Refer: https://www.mendix.com/data-hub/

With Mendix Data Hub you find all data that is available across your Company’s software landscape and use it in your Mendix projects.

Share Data between Mendix Apps – Use and edit Data Assets from one Mendix app in another.

Connect to Non-Mendix Apps – Build an OData wrapper around your non-Mendix App to connect.

Integrated in Studio (Pro) – Use the Data Hub Panel in Studio Pro to search and use for Data Assets.

2.4.2.1  How to use Data Hub

Search – Finding Connectable Data Sources

Users can find shared datasets by searching the Data Hub Catalog

Register – Sharing Datasets

To make the data from your apps accessible to others, you can publish the datasets as an OData service and register it in Data Hub. In a Mendix application, the datasets correspond to the Entity sets for a specified Entity

Consume – Using Registered Datasets

Assets that have been registered in the Data Hub Catalog can be utilized in the Mendix Studio Pro for app development. These external data sources are displayed in the domain model as external entities, which can be combined with local entities.

Curate – Maintaining Registered Assets

To make sure the right people find your service, you can edit app owners, add tags and descriptions, and toggle discoverability.

2.4.2.2  Advantages

• DataHub has versioning, so you can stick to a specific version of the data and it is not required to change after structure is changed in the parent.
  • Latest Mendix  version supports CRUD operations in DataHub, which helps to maintain a single source of truth.

2.4.2.3  Considerations

• There will be some rework when DataHub data version is changed. 

The post How Mendix can work with your Existing Database appeared first on Indium.

For this, applications are developed on cloud infrastructure using modern tools and techniques. Using cloud-native technologies benefits businesses as they enable quick and frequent changes to applications without affecting service delivery, this helps businesses break barriers to innovation and improve their competitive advantage.

For cloud-native applications to be effective and deliver on their promise, it is important to plan the right cloud architecture and document the cloud engineering strategy so the apps can be scalable, flexible, and resilient.

Why Enterprises are Building Cloud Native Applications?

The availability of digital technologies such as cloud, AI/ML, and IoT are transforming the way businesses operate today. Increased access to data is seeing a corresponding increase in the need for storage and computing power. Traditional, on-prem systems cannot cope with this pace of change and the investment can be formidable.

By modernizing their application and migrating to the cloud, businesses can reap many benefits. But, modernizing goes beyond mere migration of apps. Some or most apps must be made cloud-native to provide the intended benefits, which include:

• Improved Efficiency: Cloud-native applications are developed using the agile approach including DevOps and continuous delivery. Scalable applications are being built using cloud services, automated tools, and modern design culture.
• Lower Cost: The cost of infrastructure is drastically reduced when businesses opt for the cloud-native approach as they share resources and pay only peruse.
• High Availability: Building robust and highly accessible applications is made possible by cloud-native technology. In order to give customers a great experience, feature updates don’t result in app downtime, and businesses can scale up app resources during busy times of year.
• Flexibility, Scalability, and Resilience: The traditional apps are called monolithic because they are a single block structure composed of all the required functionalities. Any upgradation can be disruptive and needs changes to be made across the block, making them more rigid and hard to scale. Cloud-native applications, on the other hand, are made up of several small, interdependent functionalities called microservices. As a result, changes can be made to the different units without affecting the rest of the software, making them more resilient, flexible, and scalable.
• Easier Management: Cloud Native architecture and development are containerized and utilize cloud services by default. It is often called serverless and tends to reduce infrastructure management.

Cloud Native Architecture: Designed for Scale

Cloud-native architecture is designed such that it is easy to maintain, cost-effective, and self-healing. It does not depend on physical servers, hence called serverless technology, and provides greater flexibility.

APIs are needed for the cloud-native microservices to communicate with each other using an event-driven architecture for enhanced performance of every application. The Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) is an open-source platform that facilitates cloud-native development with support for projects such as Kubernetes, Prometheus, and Envoy.

The cloud-native architecture typically consists of:

• Immutable Infrastructure: The servers hosting cloud-native applications do not change even after the deployment of an application. In case additional computing resources are needed, the app is migrated to a new, high-performance server, and does not require a manual upgrade.
• Loosely-Coupled Microservices: The different functionalities available as microservices are loosely coupled – that is, they are not integrated as in a monolith, and remain independent of each other, only communicating when needed. This allows changes to be made to individual applications without affecting the overall performance of the software.
• Application Programming Interface (API): Microservices communicate with each other using APIs and state what data a microservice requires to deliver a particular result.
• Service Mesh: The communication between the different microservices is managed by a software layer called the service mesh in the cloud infrastructure. This can also be used for adding more functions without the need to write new code.
• Containerized Microservices: The microservice code and other required files, such as  resource files, libraries, and scripts, are packed in containers, which are the smallest compute unit in the cloud-native application. As a result, cloud-native applications can run independently of the underlying operating system and hardware, allowing them to be run from on-premise infrastructure or on the cloud, including hybrid clouds.
• Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD): Small, frequent changes are made to the software to improve its efficiency and identify and troubleshoot errors quickly. This improves the quality of the code on an ongoing basis. CD makes the microservices always ready to be deployed to the cloud as and when needed. Together, the two make software delivery efficient.

Overcoming Cloud-Native Development Challenges

Despite the many advantages and ease of development and maintenance of cloud-native applications, it is not without challenges. As the business expands, so can the number of microservices, requiring more oversight and maintenance. It requires strong integrators, APIs, and the right tools for improved management of asynchronous operations. Ensuring that each integrates well with the overall system and performs as expected is critical. Further, regulations such as GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) make security and governance critical for compliance.

These challenges make comprehensive testing and quality assurance essential. Therefore, a good cloud-native app development approach should include:

• Assessing the needs: A good understanding of the required functionality is essential to start from scratch or modernize existing apps. Building cloud-native apps from the ground up may be more beneficial even for businesses that are modernizing so that they can leverage the advantages better.
• Designing the architecture: Right from the cloud model to use to whether to build from scratch or repurpose are some of the many decisions that need to be taken at this stage. This will influence the nature of the technical stack the business should opt for.
• Security and Governance: While the cloud service provider may have their own security protocols for the servers, each organization must have its own governance policy and implement security to protect data and ensure compliance.
• Testing and QA: Testing each microservice individually and as a composite unit is critical to ensure performance and customer satisfaction.

FAQs

The post Cloud-Native Engineering: A Guide to Building Modern Applications appeared first on Indium.

To provide these services, healthcare providers such as doctors, nurses, medical administrators, insurance companies, government agencies, medical equipment manufacturers, and pharmaceutical companies must work together. Keeping track of all these areas and getting results when needed is a challenge for today’s healthcare providers.

Diagnostics Management Applications play an important role in assisting healthcare providers and patients to get the reports on time. Let us see how by reading the blog below.

What is Diagnostics Management Application

DMA – A Diagnostic Management Application is a software solution that aids healthcare professionals in managing the diagnostic testing procedure for their patients. DMAs are frequently used to aid in problem identification and troubleshooting, performance optimization, and downtime prevention in sectors like manufacturing, automotive, aerospace, and healthcare.

Users can often plan and monitor diagnostic tests, gather and analyze data, and produce reports and warnings using DMAs. Additionally, they might have capabilities for predictive maintenance, root cause analysis, and error tracking. To give a complete picture of the machinery and procedures, DMAs are frequently combined with other tools and systems, such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and maintenance management systems.

Through proactive maintenance and the early detection of issues, a DMA’s major objective is to increase efficiency and reliability. Employing a DMA enables businesses to lower the costs related to unscheduled downtime while also enhancing the overall efficiency of their machinery and procedures.

How do organizations use Diagnostics Management Application?

To increase productivity and dependability, organizations use diagnostics management applications (DMAs) in a variety of ways, including the following:

DMAs gather data from diagnostic tests and give tools for analyzing that data to discover faults and possible difficulties. They also let users to schedule and track diagnostic tests for equipment, systems, or processes, ensuring that all relevant tests are conducted on a regular basis.

DMAs can provide reports and warnings based on the findings and analysis, assisting users in identifying and prioritizing problems. The ability to track errors and assist users in determining the source of difficulties allows companies to take corrective action and avert more problems.

Employing a DMA enables businesses to increase performance overall while enhancing the effectiveness and dependability of their machinery and operational procedures.

What are the issues with Diagnostics Management Application Based on Legacy Technologies

Modern diagnostic management software may contain more features than legacy systems, which can limit the usefulness of the system and the standard of care given to patients. It may be challenging to share patient data and coordinate care when legacy systems are unable to communicate with other systems in an efficient manner.

The user interfaces of legacy systems may frustrate healthcare personnel, which could result in overall decline in the quality of patient treatment.

Legacy systems might be more susceptible to cyber assaults due to security flaws, which could expose private patient information. It could be more challenging to manage and maintain, needing more effort and resources to keep them up and running. Higher expenses for healthcare providers may result from this.

Read this informative blog on: Top 5 Predictive Analytics Applications in Healthcare

What are the needs of a modern-day Diagnostics Management Application using Mendix?

To be effective and efficient, a modern diagnostics management application (DMA) employing Mendix a low code platform may need to adhere to several standards. A Mendix-based contemporary DMA might require the following things:

DMAs may need to be flexible and configurable to fulfil the unique needs and specifications of various businesses and sectors. They must be able to adjust their scale up or down as necessary to consider changes in the quantity of diagnostic tests being run or the size of the company.

DMAs may need to be integrated with other systems, like enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems or maintenance management systems, to provide a comprehensive perspective of equipment and operations. They should have an easy-to-use interface that is understandable even to users with limited technical skills.

To secure sensitive information and adhere to applicable regulations, the applications should be designed with data security and privacy in mind and be easily accessible from a variety of devices and allow users to access and utilize the system from anywhere.

Read on blog on: The Best Low Code Development Solution for Startups & SMBs

The Success Story

The client is a well-known expert in MRI diagnostics and offers image diagnosis services across several US locations.

What were the issues with our client’s Diagnostics Management Application?

The client’s system has a significant amount of patient data as well as other pertinent information because it is one of the busiest diagnosis centers.

This greatly complicated the process of tracking payments and delivering reports, etc. A platform is required to make talks between medical facilities and the lawyers who represent the patients easier. To manage all approvals, billing, delivery reports, and payment structure, the client wanted to create an application.

What are the business requirements?

The client required an application to achieve the following corporate objectives while facilitating simplicity and automation inside the current system.

• Develop an application that integrates delivery report, billing, and approvals and improve the case management.
• Assistance with HL7 talks for the attorney with other medical facilities.
• Scalable architecture that can accommodate the portal’s future growth and association.

How we did it

Utilizing Mendix, we created an application based on a business need that enabled the following features

• An innovative system to improve end-user usability with a strong emphasis on streamlining the approvals and invoicing process was created.
• Interaction between the application and EXA to convert HL7 files into regular files.
• Developed HL7 engine integration.
• Lowered the need for manual intervention in the approvals and denials processes, which also decreased the need for communication via FAX and email.

What are the results we have delivered?

• After the installation procedure was complete, encrypted data transfer boosted data security by 93%.
• The efficiency and productivity of the stakeholders increased as the approval and rejection processes were made simpler.
• Automated billing conversion reduced manual involvement by up to 60% when switching from paper billing to electronic billing.
• Attorneys were able to monitor and track pending payments in all the billing centers.

If you can’t find the ideal answer, we are pleased to help you make technology work for your business. For further information, contact us by email at info@www.indiumsoftware.com. or by phone at (888) 207 5969 or (800) 123 1191.

The post Developing a Diagnostics Management Application with Improved Data Security Using Mendix Solution appeared first on Indium.

Monolithic architecture has unorganized code that makes updating difficult and time-consuming for developers. In modern times, where businesses need to constantly evolve their systems to meet their customers’ needs, legacy systems cannot evolve as quickly. Even making small changes or updating just one part of the application can be difficult.

Must Read:  Diagnostics Management Application Development Using Mendix

From Monolithic to Microservices Using Low-Code

Migrating the legacy system to a modern system is challenging for another reason. Since businesses are still using these systems for mission-critical operations, any disruption will affect business continuity and operations. Therefore, replacing the entire system with a modern one may be risky.

The incremental move of legacy applications to a modern architecture using microservices can enable pacing to ensure minimum disruption with optimal performance. Furthermore, low-code development platforms such as Mendix can facilitate easy migration based on the unique needs of businesses.

With low-code development, businesses can create a streamlined path facilitating visualization and collaboration. Low code reduces the dependence on the IT team as even non-technical users can use drag and drop to build apps efficiently and increase the business value of the app.

Mendix’s low-code platform allows businesses to decentralize and simplify the system, improve the efficiency of the applications, and become more agile to meet changing business and user needs. This increases the resiliency and also enables the updation of individual services without impacting the entire system. Mendix low-code also allows the IT and business teams to speak a common language, thereby simplifying the process of app development. With microservices, organizational complexity can be reduced as smaller groups of stakeholders can be assigned specific responsibilities.

7 Benefits of the Mendix Platform

Modernization using the Mendix low-code platform for modernization offers many benefits, including:

Prioritizing App Modernization

The modernization effort can be gradual, thus improving the return on investments of the existing systems while building mission-critical apps on priority. This ensures that the most important requirements get addressed first, while the rest of the operations continue unhindered.

Enhancing the Capabilities of the Legacy Systems

It can extend the capabilities of legacy systems by automating processes, building web and mobile apps, and developing new functionalities.

Leveraging Mendix Features for Faster Development

Mendix offers a variety of reusable components, collaboration tools, developer toolkits, technology, and resources necessary for developing cutting-edge solutions that seamlessly integrate with the existing systems, leaving the core foundation intact. Mendix Data Hub facilitates connecting and integrating microservices with existing systems using industry-standard protocols and interfaces like SOAP, REST, JDBC, and OData.

You might be interested in: The Benefits of Low Code and What It Means for Your Business

Easy Management and Upgradation

Mendix is a future-ready technology that facilitates easy maintenance, upgrades, and modernization to ensure app agility, flexibility, and scalability. It enables the proactive monitoring of apps to ensure their performance quality to reduce technical debt and enhance maintainability. The Mendix Control Center provides a centralized view of the application architecture, such as UIs, data models, and user bases.

Focus on Usability

Mendix allows developers to take a user-centric, design-thinking approach to app building with new capabilities and the removal of redundant features. With greater focus and user engagement, app success can be enhanced, leading to increased revenues, customer loyalty, and brand reputation.

Using a Microservices Approach

When migrating using the Mendix low-code platform, business-oriented microservices can enable the development of individual components for specific functions. There could be several microservices that integrate to form a single application, making it easier and quicker to develop, test, and deploy new apps without disrupting the entire system.

Extensibility

Mendix allows businesses to have access to data and applications and export them when needed on its open and extensible platform. It also allows the replication of functionality, allowing the continuous evolution of apps on Mendix. Apps can also be reused and automation can lower the total cost of ownership.

Modernize on Mendix with Indium

Indium Software is a cutting-edge software development company that helps businesses break barriers to innovation by providing bespoke solutions to accelerate growth. As a Mendix expert, we enable the continuous iteration and improvement of enterprise apps, introduce new ideas, and speed up delivery to reduce time to market and self-actualization.

Indium helps businesses leverage Mendix low-code platform to build a variety of solutions including;

• SaaS-based apps
• Customer portals
• Smart apps with IoT enablement
• Mobile interfaces and apps
• Automation of internal processes

The Indium team of Mendix experts works closely with our customers to analyze the existing infrastructure, and identify mission-critical apps that need to be updated, replaced, repurposed, or reused. This streamlines migration, thus modernizing businesses quickly to minimize disruption and maximize resources.

Indium in short:

• Mendix practice of 6+ years
• More than 50 active customers
• Developed nearly 350 customized applications

Indium has one of the largest number of certified low-code communities globally and is an end-to-end solution provider. We also have a dedicated low-code academy, constantly training and retraining our team to meet the needs of our customers.

FAQs

The post <strong>Using Mendix to Modernize your Legacy App</strong> appeared first on Indium.

One of the key factors driving the success of the cloud application is the use of containers, which are light, fast, and portable, unlike virtual machines. They improve the testability of the applications, are more secure, and allow workloads to be isolated inside cost-effective clusters. This helps with faster development and deployment to meet the ever-changing needs of the customers.

To leverage containers successfully, developers need a managed container platform such as Kubernetes from Google. Kubernetes enables the building of customized platforms that align with the organization’s governance needs regarding project creation, nodes being used, and the libraries and repositories that can be tapped by providing a governed and secure framework.

Kubernetes refers to an open-source model that helps create and scale reliable apps and services in a secure environment and adds value through innovation using standardized plugins and extensions. This is expected to help the global Kubernetes solutions market grow from USD 1747.20 million in 2021 at a CAGR of 17.70% to reach USD 5467.40 million by 2028.

Automating Scaling and Deployment

Kubernetes or K8s automate the deployment and management of cloud-native applications on public cloud platforms or on-premises infrastructure and orchestrate containerized applications to run on a cluster of hosts. Some of the functions of Kubernetes include:

• Distributing application workloads across a Kubernetes cluster
• Automating dynamic container networking needs
• Allocating storage and persistent volumes to running containers
• Enabling automatic scaling
• Maintaining the desired state of applications
• Providing resiliency

Kubernetes Architecture

The applications are encapsulated in the containers in a portable form, which makes it easy to deploy. The Kubernetes architecture is made up of clusters that include a minimum of one control plane and one worker node and are designed to run containerized applications.

The control plane’s responsibilities include exposing the Kubernetes API through the API server and managing the nodes contained in the cluster. It manages the cluster and identifies and responds to cluster events.

Kubernetes Pod is the smallest unit of execution for an application in Kubernetes, has one or more containers, and runs on worker nodes.

Kubernetes allows two kinds of scaling:

Horizontal Scaling: Horizontal Pod Autoscaler allows the adding of new nodes or increasing the replicated count of pods to the existing cluster of computing resources. The number of pods needed is calculated based on the metrics specified at the outset such as CPU and RAM consumption or other custom metrics.

Vertical Scaling: In this, attributed resources are modified for each node in the cluster, and the resource requests and limits are adjusted as per current application requirements using Vertical Pod Autoscaler.

Container Orchestration: Kubernetes container lifecycle management encompassing provisioning, deployment, scaling, networking, and load balancing is enabled through orchestration. This automates the tasks essential for running containerized workloads and services.

Kubernetes Features

Some of the key features of K8 that enable orchestrating containers across multiple hosts, automating cluster management, and optimizing resource utilization include:

Auto-scaling: It enables the automated scaling up and down of containerized applications and their resources based on need.

Lifecycle Management. It enables automated deployments and updates, rollback to earlier versions, pausing or continuing a deployment, and so on.

Declarative Model: When the desired state is declared, K8s maintain that state and recover in case of failures by working in the background.

Self-healing and Resilience: Application self-healing is made possible by automated placement, restart, replication, and scaling.

Persistent Storage: Storage can be mounted and added dynamically.

Load Balancing: Several types of internal and external load balancing is supported for diverse needs.

DevSecOps Support: Kubernetes facilitates DevSecOps to improve developer productivity, simplify and automate container operations across clouds, and integrate security through the container life cycle.

Some of the key benefits of Kubernetes include:

• Faster time to release by simplifying the development lifecycle
• Cost-effectiveness through automatic modulation of resource allocation
• Making applications scalable and available

Advantage Indium

Indium Software is a cutting-edge cloud engineering company with a team of experts that can help with the migration and modernization of applications. Developing microservices and containerizing applications is one of our strengths. We are a Kubernetes solution provider, working closely with our customers and developing cloud-native applications and modernizing apps using the Kubernetes platform.

Our DevSecOps expertise further helps us to leverage Kubernetes for faster development and deployment of applications with security integrated into the process. Our experts analyze and understand the business needs and facilitate smooth management of clusters for scaling up and down based on the need for greater availability at lower costs.

The post Why Auto-Scaling and Deployment of Applications is Easier Using Kubernetes appeared first on Indium.

The traditional software development process relied heavily on codes, organized as a single-tier module or n-tier architecture (Internet stack) isolated horizontally. This makes scaling, performance, and rapid deployment difficult and is compelling businesses to adopt digital transformation to be future-ready. Modern solutions are more agile, enabling rapid development and deployment using dockers and containerization, orchestrated by Kubernetes. This helps businesses shorten their development cycles, speed up time-to-market, and gain a competitive advantage.

Modernizing application development solutions provide the benefits of:

• Lower cost of development
• Greater efficiency in the development and deployment processes
• Improved RoI

However, for businesses with legacy solutions, moving to the cloud and microservices architecture is not a straightforward, lift-and-shift process. Businesses need a multi-dimensional approach when adopting and using new technology, refactoring, redesigning, or replacing legacy solutions as needed. They need to be able to assess the potential of the codes to adapt to the microservices architecture and choose whether it can be rehosted, needs to be refactored, completely redesigned to be able to meet the new needs.

Microservices architecture provides the benefits of elasticity, speed, ease of deployment and management, resilience, and flexibility. To leverage these advantages, the existing solutions need to be transformed into highly available, agile, and elastic solution.

Best Practices in Migrating to AWS Microservices Architecture

When businesses migrate to the Amazon Web Server, it is important to first assess and evaluate the readiness of the enterprise for this change. The transition must be done in a phased manner, one or two applications at a time, to ensure business continuity as well as to ensure the business is future-ready and scalable.

The apps selected for the process should provide value to the business and should be decoupled based on measurable benefits.

It is important to:

• Define the objectives of the transition
• Define the scope and the changes needed to the architecture
• Prepare the resources
• Change critical development approach

Based on the scope and the criticality, the businesses need to identify the monoliths that need to be decomposed to microservices architecture first. It is important to understand the business use case of the monolith, the underlying technology, and the interdependency with other applications. The reliability and performance issues of the applications should also be considered before undertaking modernization. The team must be prepared and trained to face the new requirements and fresh talent absorbed to supplement the existing skills.

Next is to identify the following:

• The supporting infrastructure
• Application middleware
• Middleware services, including databases, integration software, queuing software, and other technologies and components.

The 7Rs of App Modernization on Cloud

Retire

The applications you don’t need any more.

Retain

On-premises applications that are too complex or costly to migrate.

Rehost

Applications quickly in the cloud.

Replatform

Applications that need to run on a different operating system in the cloud.

Replace

Applications for which better and/or cheaper SaaS solutions are available.

Refactor

Applications that need significant code rework for the cloud, decoupling from other systems as needed.

Reimagine

Business processes in the cloud by redefining and enhancing core value propositions.

AWS MAP < MAP is not a tool, it’s a AWS funded program to help customer pick pace in cloud journey>

AWS offers an outcome-driven Migration Acceleration Program (MAP) through its partners such as Indium Software to simplify and accelerate migration for enterprises. With MAP tools, businesses can experience:

• Lower costs
• Automation and acceleration of execution
• Customized training approaches and content
• The expertise of Indium AWS team
• AWS investment

The MAP approach is based on the three pillars of

• – Assess
• – Mobilize
• – Migrate and Modernize

This helps in reducing risks while speeding up modernization to help businesses benefit from the performance, reliability, and security of the cloud. The tools for each of these aspects are as follows:

● Assess and Mobilize:

• AWS provides Migration Evaluator which enables building a business case based on data for the migration to AWS.
• An AWS Migration Hub enables tracking the migration of applications from a single location
• The AWS Application Discovery Service helps with discovering the inventory and behavior of the on-premises server

● Migrate Applications:

• The AWS Application Migration Service simplifies and expedites the migration while keeping the costs low
• AWS Database Migration Service facilitates the migration of databases with minimal downtime

● Businesses can modernize their mainframe, Windows, SAP, and VMware with specific tools for each

● For data storage, MAP provides tools such as:

• AWS Transfer Family migrate files to Amazon S3 and Amazon Elastic File System using FTP, SFTP, and FTPS protocols
• AWS Snow family for collecting and processing data at the edge and migrating data to and from AWS using physical devices and capacity points

Indium Software–AWS Expertise

Indium Software is an AWS partner that facilitates app modernization on AWS by aligning cloud platform capabilities to business strategies. It has a proven track record in AWS consulting, system integration, and offering industry solutions by accelerating the digital transformation journey of its customers. It has completed more than 150 App Migration/Modernization, involving more than 20 Petabyte of data migration, and 250 CI/CD pipelines

Some of its key offerings include:

• App Modernization (Serverless/Containerization)
• Migration of legacy apps to AWS with zero downtime
• Application migration from any cloud to AWS Integration Services

The Indium team of AWS experts have cross-domain expertise that helps them understand the needs of its customers and provide bespoke solutions best suited to their needs. We design the architecture and evaluate the existing applications to design the migration strategy based on expected outcomes.

The post Breakdown Legacy Applications in Microservices Using AWS Tools and Solutions appeared first on Indium.

Established infrastructures and applications are set to undergo further change as Internet of Things (IoT) gathers pace as a mainstream technology. Because of the trends, the way system integration will work in the coming years is also set to fundamentally change.

As organizations jostle to be the first to hit the market, the first to innovate and the first, too, to adopt new technology, they are starting to rely on many applications. All of which need to work as intended.

It is the fundamental reason that applications are evolving to become microservices, instead of being all-in-one, monolithic applications.

In business philosophy, a famous quote of Greek philosopher Aristotle— “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts”—has long served as a framework. As per the concept, things work better in a unit rather than in fragments. That theory, though, is flipped on its head by microservices, whose concept is the sum of the parts is greater than the whole.

What Are Microservices?

Microservices are a variant of service-oriented architecture (SOA) and an approach that involves developing a single application with a suite of services, each of them running in its own process. The services are built on clearly-defined business capabilities (such as making an online payment, analyzing medical results, routing network traffic and more) and can be deployed independently. Each microservice typically involves about 100 lines of code as it accomplishes one of many tasks within a broader process.

Microservices offer superior modularity, which makes it easier to develop, test and maintain applications. They are helping boost the speed of business innovation and are opening new capabilities for enterprises.

How Does A Microservices Architecture Work?

A microservices architecture separates an application into small parts to build separate application programming interfaces (APIs) for each component that is hosted on the virtual machines. Output from one service serves as an input for another in an organization of communicating, independent services.

Within the microservices, each service discovery requires an independent database, which enables the services to be loosely coupled. This type of architecture is not only easier to manage but it is also much more cost-effective than managing a large API. Microservices are also platform- and device-agnostic, an attribute that helps businesses offer unified user experiences across platforms, including the mobile, web, IoT, fitness tracker environments, wearables, et cetera.

Microservices – The Way Forward For App Integration

Many organizations have already or started to migrate(d) to microservices. The architecture offers the flexibility to independently deploy and scale services, while it also helps improve system reliability.

For example, if an application were to receive hundreds or thousands of sign-ups at a given moment, it is possible for the authorization engine to be hard hit by the traffic. But microservices help scale up only those services, rather than an entire application. It is also worth noting that horizontal scaling would eventually help save cost on on-demand cloud resources.

Increased ROI And Reduced TCO

One of the main advantages of microservices is that they allow organizations to optimize their resources. Several teams work on the different services, which not helps in faster deployment but also helps pivot easily when the need arises.

With microservices, teams’ code is more reusable while development time is drastically reduced. Microservices’ higher efficiency helps to not only reduce infrastructure costs, but it also significantly reduces downtime.

Decoupling services also means that companies do not need to operate on costly machines.

Easier Maintenance And Debugging

Microservices offer easy maintenance since they can be refined without the need to edit the entire suite. They also help fulfil the Single Responsibility Principle, which underlines the value of specialized services. As smaller modules undergo a continuous process of delivery and testing, organizations’ ability to provide error-free applications is greatly improved.

Greater resilience

In the case of microservices, an entire application becomes decoupled and decentralized into services that work as separate entities. This helps reduce the impact of a failure. For instance, even when multiple systems are taken down for maintenance purposes, users would not notice it.

Right tool for right task

Another key advantage of microservices is that organizations do not need to get tied up with any single vendor. On the contrary, they have the flexibility of using the right tool for the right task. Each service uses its own proprietary language, ancillary services and framework while still having the ability to communicate seamlessly with the other services of the application.

Faster time-to-market

As microservices work with loosely coupled services, an entire codebase does not have to be rewritten to add or tweak an application feature. Instead, changes can be made only to the specific service. By developing applications that can be independently deployed and tested, and by developing applications in increments, microservices help get services and applications to market quicker.

Closing Thoughts

The microservices architecture market is expanding. As per a report, it is increasing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17 percent and is forecast to reach USD 33 billion by the year 2023. Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and other cloud-based solutions are contributing to the growth of microservices, which offer several key advantages for organizations. Despite the multiple advantages, microservices architecture may not be ideal for every enterprise or business given the need for robust monitoring, the need to adopt a DevOps culture, the complexity of testing microservices, designing for failure and more.

The post Will Microservices Architecture Drive The Future Of App Integration? appeared first on Indium.