How I Built CommerceX: A Scalable MERN Stack Architecture
Introduction
Building a scalable e-commerce platform requires careful consideration of architecture, database design, and state management. In this article, I'll walk you through how I built CommerceX, utilizing a microservices approach within a MERN stack environment.
The Problem with Monoliths
When I first started CommerceX, I considered a monolithic architecture. However, as the feature set grew—adding inventory management, order processing, and real-time notifications—it became clear that a decoupled system was necessary.
Key Challenges
- Scalability: Scaling the entire app just to handle high traffic on the product page.
- Maintainability: A single codebase becoming too complex.
- Deployment: Risk of bringing down the whole system for a minor update.
The Solution: Microservices
I decided to split the application into distinct services:
- Auth Service: Handles JWT authentication and user management.
- Product Service: Manages catalog, inventory, and search (cached with Redis).
- Order Service: Processes transactions and order states.
- Notification Service: Listens for events (using RabbitMQ) to send emails/SMS.
Implementation Details
Here is a look at how I structured the API Gateway to route requests to these services:
// API Gateway Entry Point
const express = require('express');
const proxy = require('express-http-proxy');
const app = express();
app.use('/auth', proxy('http://localhost:8001'));
app.use('/products', proxy('http://localhost:8002'));
app.use('/orders', proxy('http://localhost:8003'));
app.listen(8000, () => {
console.log('Gateway running on Port 8000');
});Performance Optimization
To ensure the platform could handle high concurrency, I implemented several optimizations:
1. Caching with Redis
Product details are cached to reduce database hits.
2. Database Indexing
MongoDB indexes were crucial for query performance.
Pro Tip: Always analyze your query patterns before creating indexes. Over-indexing can slow down write operations.
Conclusion
Migrating to a microservices architecture introduced complexity but significantly improved scalability and fault tolerance. CommerceX is now capable of handling thousands of concurrent users with ease.