https://merolhack.github.io/mach-playbook/Practical guides and patterns for Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native, and Headless architecture. 2026-04-05T13:22:24-06:00 merolhack https://merolhack.github.io/mach-playbook/ Jekyll © 2026 merolhack /mach-playbook/assets/img/favicons/favicon.ico /mach-playbook/assets/img/favicons/favicon-96x96.png 2026-04-04T00:00:00-06:00 2026-04-05T10:42:12-06:00 https://merolhack.github.io/mach-playbook/posts/when-not-to-use-microservices-a-decision-framework/ merolhack

The honest counterweight to MACH advocacy. Microservices are not a default — they are a trade-off. This post gives a concrete framework for deciding when a modular monolith is the right call. The Cost Nobody Talks About in Conference Talks Network latency, distributed debugging, data consistency across boundaries, operational overhead per service, and the cognitive load on every engineer who ...

2026-04-04T00:00:00-06:00 2026-04-05T10:42:12-06:00 https://merolhack.github.io/mach-playbook/posts/video-review-reacting-to-netflixs-architecture-what-we-can-learn-and-what-doesnt-apply/ merolhack

Netflix’s architecture is cited constantly as a microservices role model. This post gives a critical reading: what genuinely applies to other organizations, and what is specific to Netflix’s scale and engineering culture.

2026-04-04T00:00:00-06:00 2026-04-05T10:42:12-06:00 https://merolhack.github.io/mach-playbook/posts/video-review-martin-fowler-on-microservices-key-takeaways/ merolhack

Martin Fowler’s talks are required reading for anyone serious about microservices. This post distills the core ideas, adds commentary from real-world application, and highlights what has aged well and what hasn’t.

2026-04-04T00:00:00-06:00 2026-04-05T10:42:12-06:00 https://merolhack.github.io/mach-playbook/posts/video-review-configuring-your-service-mesh-gateway-api-and-routing-in-practice/ merolhack

Service mesh configuration is where good theory meets painful practice. This post reviews KubeCon tutorials on Gateway API and service mesh routing, extracting the parts that matter for a typical MACH deployment.

2026-04-04T00:00:00-06:00 2026-04-05T10:42:12-06:00 https://merolhack.github.io/mach-playbook/posts/understanding-headless-cms-decoupling-content-from-presentation/ merolhack

The H in MACH is frequently the least understood. This post explains why separating content storage from rendering unlocks omnichannel delivery and what tradeoffs it introduces.