juniorMicroservices
What is a Health Check in Microservices?
Updated Apr 28, 2026
Short answer
An endpoint provided by a service that allows an orchestrator to monitor its operational status.
Deep explanation
Microservices focus on breaking down a large application into smaller, manageable pieces. Each service is independent, meaning it has its own codebase, development team, and deployment lifecycle. This separation allows for technology diversity and better fault isolation.
Real-world example
An e-commerce site where 'Payments', 'Inventory', and 'Shipping' are separate services.
Common mistakes
- Creating 'Distributed Monoliths' where services are too tightly coupled.
Follow-up questions
- How do services talk to each other?
- What happens if one service goes down?