Developing microservices based applications is particularly effective for many reasons, especially when utilizing the Bluemix platform. This architecture allows developers to choose the most ideal technology for each microservice within an application. In addition to being a polyglot platform supporting multiple languages, Bluemix also offers a number of compute options such as OpenWhisk and Cloud Foundry. The OpenWhisk compute platform on Bluemix allows developers to quickly create serverless functions that can be executed by specific triggers or even just a simple REST call. They scale on-demand and you only ever pay for usage. The Cloud Foundry option offers a more standard application hosting platform for your microservices. Join developer evangelists Joe Sepi and Sai Vennam from the API Connect team who’ll walk through Acme Freight, a best-practice sample application with a technology stack based entirely in Bluemix. Learn about how OpenWhisk, Cloud Foundry, API Connect, Node.js and more come together to create this robust demo application that could potentially disrupt the Logistics industry.

1. Acme Freight
Developing Microservices and APIs on
Bluemix
Joe Sepi - @joe_sepi
Sai Vennam - @sai_vennam

2. Dev Journey: Acme Freight
developer.ibm.com/code

3. Bluemix and Microservices - The Perfect Fit
What are microservices?
● Approach to app development
where a larger app is made up of
smaller modular services
● A subset of service-oriented
architecture
● A well-built microservices-based
app follows the 12 factor app -
https://12factor.net

4. Bluemix and Microservices - The Perfect Fit
What is Bluemix?
● Platform as a Service, or PaaS
● Polyglot - Support for multiple
languages
● Multiple Compute Options
○ Cloud Foundry (Apps)
○ Containers (Docker)
○ OpenWhisk (Serverless)

5. Why are APIs important
● Provide clear contract between services and consumers
● Enable interconnected applications with distinct boundaries
● Power 3rd party integrations

6. Disrupting Supply Chain Management

7. Supply Chain Difficulties
● Managing a supply chain is complex,
even with a modern ERP system
● Numerous choke points and
bottlenecks
● Difficult to plan for variables that are
out of human control
● Traditional “visibility” is not up to
modern process control standards
● Much of today’s “smart” tech has yet to
enter this lucrative space

8. The Snowstorm
Who?
A large retailer
What?
A snowstorm is currently moving towards the United States.
Non-perishables and snow equipment sells out two days
before the storm, creating thousands of unhappy customers.
How do we plan for this situation?
Is it possible to train our systems to prevent this?
How do we apply the lessons learned for the future?

9. Acme Freight Demo

10. Acme Freight

16. Architecture

17. Loopback
Light-weight open-source Node.js Framework
Rapidly build out microservices
Connect to back-end data sources
Expose CRUD operations as APIs
http://loopback.io

18. LoopBack Demo

19. OpenWhisk
Event-driven apps that scale on demand
Flexibility and scalable business model
Polyglot application development
Open source under Apache Foundation
Deployable to any OpenStack environment
Available on Bluemix
openwhisk.org

21. OpenWhisk Demo

32. actions/recommend.js

33. API MANAGEMENT - Why do you need it?
The gateway to fully manage access to your backend resources and services
● Security
● Orchestration/routing
● Single interface/entry point
● Analytics
● Logging
● Authentication
● Rate limiting and enforcement
● Optimized endpoints
● Blue green deployments
● Canary releases
● Circuit breakers (error thresholds)

34. Bluemix API Management Demo

35. Bluemix brings it all together

36. Resources
Explore the Interactive Code Journey: https://developer.ibm.com/code/journey/unlock-enterprise-data-using-apis/
See the Acme Freight App: http://acme-freight.mybluemix.net/
Get the code: https://github.com/IBM/acme-freight
Get started with LoopBack today! http://loopback.io/
Try Bluemix: http://bluemix.net
Reach out with any questions
Thanks!!!
@joe_sepi
joesepi@ibm.com
@sai_vennam
svennam@us.ibm.com