09.08.2025 –, TR211
Abstract
In a world where agility, resilience, and scalability are no longer luxuries but essentials, cell-based architecture emerges as a forward-thinking solution rooted in open-source principles. This talk introduces the concept through an evolutionary lens—from monoliths to microservices, and finally to cells, the next logical step in distributed system design.
Unlike traditional microservices, cells are self-contained, independently deployable units that encapsulate both runtime and governance. This model enables enterprise platforms to scale efficiently while isolating failures and maintaining developer autonomy. We’ll explore how leading open-source implementations like WSO2’s Choreo have leveraged this architecture to enable multi-tenancy, service composition, and zero-trust security at scale.
This session is ideal for architects, DevOps engineers, and platform engineers interested in distributed systems, service mesh, or platform engineering. Prior knowledge of microservices or Kubernetes is recommended but not mandatory.
Key Takeaways:
- Understand how cell-based architecture improves on microservices for large-scale, multi-team systems.
- Learn about real-world adoption through open-source implementations like WSO2 Choreo.
- Explore how cell-based architecture fosters team autonomy, resilience, and cost optimization.
- Identify common adoption challenges and recommended patterns to overcome them.
Outline
-
Setting the Stage
- The problem space: Modern enterprise challenges in scalability and governance -
Architectural Evolution
- From monoliths → microservices → cells
- Open-source milestones influencing this transition -
What is Cell-Based Architecture?
- Definition, structure, and how cells differ from microservices
- Self-governance, zero-trust by default, and team ownership -
The Tech Behind the Cells
- Communication (service mesh), discovery, policies
- Open-source tools enabling cell-based platforms -
WSO2 Choreo: A Real-World Case Study
- How Choreo implements cells for multi-tenant PaaS
- Developer workflows, scalability, and isolation -
Challenges & Adoption Patterns
- Common pitfalls in transitioning to cells
- Recommended rollout strategies for existing systems -
Conclusion & Open Q&A
- Summary of benefits
- Final questions from the audience
This session is designed for platform engineers, DevOps professionals, and cloud architects who are building or maintaining distributed systems at scale. It will also benefit developers and technical leads working with microservices or Kubernetes-based environments who are exploring ways to improve resilience, scalability, and team autonomy. Additionally, open-source contributors and technology strategists interested in next-generation architectural patterns will find value in understanding how cell-based architecture aligns with open culture and modular system design.
Schwierigkeitsgrad:Beginner
Suvin is a Senior Software Engineer at WSO2 and an open-source maintainer. Even though his work is more focused on Identity and Access Management in Kubernetes, he enjoys being a developer advocate speaking at events and leading tech communities. He is a Die-Hard fan of JavaScript, IAM, Sci-fi and TBBT. Suvin is known for his community work and in fact, you may meet him at many dev community events around South Asia. If you see him at any of these events, don’t forget to wave and say Hi!