Developing and deploying applications that communicate in distributed systems, especially in cloud computing, is complex. Messaging has evolved to address the general needs of distributed applications but hasn’t gone far enough. We need a messaging system that takes the next steps to address cloud, edge, and IoT needs. These include ever-increasing scalability requirements in terms of millions, if not billions of endpoints, a new emphasis toward resiliency of the system as a whole over individual components, end-to-end security, and the ability to have a zero-trust system. In this post we’ll discuss the steps NATS is taking to address these needs, leading toward a securely connected world.
Let’s break down the challenges into scalability, resiliency at scale, and security.
Scalability
To support millions, or even billions of endpoints spanning the globe, most architectures would involve a federated approach with many layers filtering up to a control layer, driven by a required central authority for configuration and security. Instead, NATS is taking a distributed and decentralized approach.
Read more at CNCF