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Jeferson Eiji
Jeferson Eiji

Posted on • Originally published at dev.to

Essential Patterns for Inter-Service Communication in Node.js Microservices

#node #microservices #grpc #rest

Inter-service communication is a foundational part of microservices architecture. In Node.js environments, there are several common strategies to achieve reliable, scalable communication between services. Here are the key methods, with practical examples for each:

1. HTTP/REST APIs

  • Use simple HTTP requests (via axios, request, etc.) to communicate between services.
  • Easy to implement but can have overhead for high frequency/internal calls.

Example:

   // Service A calls Service B
   const axios = require('axios');
   axios.get('http://service-b:3000/api/data')
     .then(res => console.log(res.data));
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2. gRPC

  • Enables efficient, strongly-typed communication using Protocol Buffers.
  • Well-suited for internal, high-performance inter-service calls.

Example:

   // Define .proto, implement server/client using @grpc/grpc-js
   const grpc = require('@grpc/grpc-js');
   // Load proto and handle RPC methods
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3. Message Brokers (Asynchronous)

  • Use systems like RabbitMQ, Kafka, or NATS for event-driven, decoupled communication.
  • Ideal for workflows, decoupling, handling spikes in demand.

Example with RabbitMQ:

   // Publishing an event
   const amqp = require('amqplib');
   amqp.connect('amqp://localhost').then(conn => {
     return conn.createChannel().then(ch => {
       return ch.assertQueue('tasks').then(() => {
         ch.sendToQueue('tasks', Buffer.from(JSON.stringify({foo: 'bar'})));
       });
     });
   });
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4. Service Discovery

  • Tools like Consul or etcd help services find each other dynamically.
  • Prevents hardcoding of service locations.

In summary: Choose synchronous HTTP/gRPC for real-time needs and asynchronous messaging for decoupled, event-driven workflows. Combine with service discovery for robust solutions.

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