___        ______     ____ _                 _  ___  
    / \ \      / / ___|   / ___| | ___  _   _  __| |/ _ \ 
   / _ \ \ /\ / /\___ \  | |   | |/ _ \| | | |/ _` | (_) |
  / ___ \ V  V /  ___) | | |___| | (_) | |_| | (_| |\__, |
 /_/   \_\_/\_/  |____/   \____|_|\___/ \__,_|\__,_|  /_/ 

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Breaking a Monolithic Node.js Application into Microservices

Overview

This project demonstrates how to refactor a traditional monolithic Node.js message board application into a microservices architecture using Docker and Amazon ECS. The application allows users to create topic threads and post messages, originally implemented as a single service.

Objectives

• Containerize a monolithic Node.js application
• Break it into microservices based on business logic (Posts, Threads, Comments)
• Set up Docker-based local development with docker-compose
• Deploy services to AWS ECS using task definitions and load balancers

Architecture Evolution

Monolithic Version

• A single Node.js server
• All application logic in one codebase
• One failure = full app crash

Microservices Version

• Post Service: Handles user posts
• Thread Service: Manages discussion threads
• Comment Service: Handles comments on posts
• API Gateway: Acts as an entry point, routing to microservices

Each service runs independently in containers, enabling individual scaling and deployment.

Technologies Used

• Node.js – Application backend
• Express.js – REST APIs
• Docker – Containerization
• Amazon ECS – Container orchestration and deployment
• AWS CloudFormation – Infrastructure as Code
• NGINX or Express Gateway – API Gateway (optional)
• MongoDB / DynamoDB – Optional backend (based on services)

How to Run Locally

# Clone repo
git clone https://github.com/<your-username>/monolith-to-microservices-nodejs.git
cd monolith-to-microservices-nodejs

# Run monolith (optional)
cd monolith-app && npm install && node server.js

# OR run microservices with Docker
docker-compose up --build