Hermes is a popular open-source message broker used for asynchronous communication between microservices. It is widely used in the software development community due to its fast message delivery and reliable performance. However, like any other technology, Hermes has its specific weaknesses that can impact its performance and functionality.
What is Hermes?
Before we dive into the specific weaknesses of Hermes, it’s essential to understand what it is. Hermes is a message broker that enables distributed systems to communicate with each other asynchronously. It allows different microservices or applications to send and receive messages without knowing about each other’s existence.
The Specific Weaknesses of Hermes
Although Hermes has many benefits, it also has some specific weaknesses that developers need to be aware of while using it in their projects. Let’s take a look at them:
1. Limited Message Size
One of the significant weaknesses of Hermes is that it has a limited message size. The maximum size of a single message in Hermes is 64KB. If your application needs to send larger messages, you’ll have to split them into smaller chunks and send them separately.
2. Lack of Message Encryption
Hermes doesn’t provide any built-in encryption functionality for messages sent between services. It means that if you’re sending sensitive information over the network, you’ll have to implement encryption yourself.
3. No Guaranteed Delivery
Hermes doesn’t guarantee message delivery between services. If a service goes down or becomes unavailable for some reason, messages can get lost or delayed.
4. No Message Prioritization
Hermes doesn’t provide any built-in prioritization mechanism for messages. It means that all messages are treated equally by default, which can lead to delays or conflicts if multiple services try to process messages simultaneously.
5. Poor Monitoring Capabilities
Hermes doesn’t provide robust monitoring capabilities out of the box. It means that if you want to monitor your Hermes deployment, you’ll have to implement it yourself.
Conclusion
Hermes is an excellent message broker that enables asynchronous communication between microservices. However, it’s crucial to be aware of its specific weaknesses to avoid any performance or functionality issues in your projects. By understanding these weaknesses and taking measures to mitigate them, you can ensure that your Hermes deployment is reliable and secure.