MSABot: A Chatbot Framework for Assisting in the Development and Operation of Microservice-Based Systems

Abstract

Microservice architecture (MSA) has become a popular architectural style. The main advantages of MSA include modularization and scalability. However, the development and maintenance of Microservice-based systems are more complex than traditional monolithic architecture. This research plans to develop a novel Chatbot system, referred to as MSABot (Microservice Architecture Bot), to assist in the development and operation of Microservice-based systems by using Chatbots. MSABot integrates a variety of tools to allow users to understand the current status of Microservice development and operation, and to push the information of system errors or risks to users. For the operators who take over the maintenance of Microservices, MSABot also allows them to quickly understand the overall service architecture and the operation status of each service. Besides, we invited multiple users who are familiar with the technology of Microservice or ChapOps to evaluate MSABot. The results of the survey show that more than 90% of the respondents believe that MSABot can adequately support the development and maintenance of Microservice-based systems.