Moving From Monolithic To Microservices Architecture for Multi-Agent Systems

TL;DR

This paper reviews the transition from monolithic to microservices architecture in multi-agent systems, emphasizing improved scalability, maintainability, and exploring architectural principles, communication protocols, and design challenges.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of adopting microservices in MAS, highlighting benefits, architectural patterns, and key communication protocols, which is a novel focus in this domain.

Findings

Microservices enhance scalability and maintainability in MAS.

Identification of key architectural patterns and communication protocols.

Discussion of design challenges in transitioning to microservices.

Abstract

The transition from monolithic to microservices architecture revolutionized software development by improving scalability and maintainability. This paradigm shift is now becoming relevant for complex multi-agent systems (MAS). This review article explores the evolution from monolithic architecture to microservices architecture in the specific context of MAS. It will highlight the limitations of traditional monolithic MAS and the benefits of adopting a microservices-based approach. The article further examines the core architectural principles and communication protocols, including Agent Communication Languages (ACLs), the Model Context Protocol (MCP), and the Application-to-Application (A2A) protocol. The article identifies emerging architectural patterns, design challenges, and considerations through a comparative lens of the paradigm shift.