Distributed Configuration with Spring Cloud Config

When building microservices, managing configurations for each service can become tricky. Spring Cloud Config provides a solution by offering a centralized way to manage configurations across multiple services. This allows you to store configuration data in a centralized repository, enabling you to manage and update configurations for all services without the need to modify each service individually.

Spring Cloud Config is a framework that helps you externalize and manage configurations across your microservices. It provides a server and a client to load configurations from a central repository like Git, SVN, or a local file system.

Working of Spring Cloud Config

• Config Server: A Spring Boot application that serves configuration properties. It connects to a repository (e.g., Git) and exposes the configuration via an HTTP endpoint.
• Config Client: Each microservice that needs access to configuration properties. The client pulls the configurations from the Config Server using the Spring Cloud Config Client.

Setting Up Spring Cloud Config

Create a Config Server

• Create a Spring Boot application.
• Add the Spring Cloud Config Server dependency.
• Enable the Config Server by using @EnableConfigServer.

Store Configuration in Git

• Store your application’s configuration files (like application.properties or application.yml) in a Git repository.
• Example

Connect the Config Client

• In your microservices (Config Clients), add the Spring Cloud Config Client dependency.
• Point the client to the Config Server by specifying the Config Server URL.

Benefits of Using Spring Cloud Config

• Centralized Management: All configuration files are stored in one place, making updates easier.
• Environment-Specific Configurations: You can have different configuration files for different environments (e.g., application-dev.yml, application-prod.yml).
• Dynamic Updates: Configurations can be updated without restarting services (via Spring Cloud Bus).