The use of Strangler Fig Pattern on monolithic game servers

This paper aims to explore the possibility to apply the Strangler Pattern to transition a monolithic game server to a microservice architecture. Initially, automated tests were created to validate the existing functionality of the GameDAO class, ensuring confidence in maintaining behavior throughout the transition. A new microservice was developed following a well-defined API specification and validated with Contract- or Consumer-Driven Tests (CDTs). Using the Branch by Ab- straction pattern, we incrementally replaced the monolithic functionality with a RemoteGameDAO connector that interfaces with the new microservice. Our detailed logbook tracked the process, which took a total of 17.5 hours, slightly exceeding our 15-hour hypothesis. The comprehensive tests confirmed that the functionality remained consistent before and after the transition, validating the effectiveness of the Strangler Pattern in this real-world scenario.