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Building Blocks Core Services API Service The API service is the primary entry point for client applications interacting with FlexPrice. It handles all HTTP requests, processes them through appropriate business logic, and returns responses. The API service:
Exposes RESTful endpoints for various FlexPrice functionalities
Handles authentication and authorization
Writes data to PostgreSQL for persistent storage
Publishes events to Kafka for asynchronous processing
Initiates Temporal workflows for complex or scheduled processes
Worker Service The Worker service consumes messages from Kafka and processes them asynchronously:
Subscribes to configured Kafka topics
Processes incoming events (usage data, system events, etc.)
Writes aggregated data to ClickHouse for analytics
Updates PostgreSQL when necessary based on event processing
Handles event-driven business logic that doesn’t need immediate response
Temporal Worker The Temporal Worker executes scheduled and long-running workflows:
Runs background job workflows such as billing cycles
Processes multi-step operations that require state management
Handles cron jobs for scheduled tasks
Will eventually manage webhook delivery and related workflows
Interacts with PostgreSQL and can trigger Kafka events
Infrastructure Components PostgreSQL PostgreSQL serves as the primary transactional database storing all core business data:
Customer data
Subscription information
Plan configurations
Feature entitlements
User accounts and authorization data
ClickHouse ClickHouse is an OLAP database optimized for high-performance analytics:
Stores usage metrics and events
Supports real-time analytics queries
Enables fast aggregation for billing calculations
Provides data for usage dashboards and reporting
Kafka Kafka serves as the message broker and event streaming platform:
Decouples services for async processing
Enables event-driven architecture
Ensures reliable delivery of events between services
Provides buffering during traffic spikes
Temporal Temporal is a workflow orchestration platform that manages complex, stateful processes:
Coordinates long-running business processes
Provides durability and reliability for mission-critical workflows
Manages scheduled jobs via cron-like functionality
Handles retries and error recovery automatically
Functional Building Blocks FlexPrice is architected as a set of composable building blocks, each handling specific aspects of usage-based billing and subscription management. These blocks can be used independently or together, providing flexibility in how the platform is deployed and utilized.
Usage Metering Layer Core Functionality:
Collection and processing of usage events
Real-time event ingestion
Usage analytics and reporting
Interactions:
Provides usage data to the Pricing Layer for cost calculations
Feeds data to the Subscription Layer for usage-based billing
Supports the Entitlement Layer with metering for feature limits
Pricing Layer Core Functionality:
Defines flexible pricing models
Supports various pricing strategies (tiered, volume, graduated, etc.)
Handles price calculations based on usage
Interactions:
Works with Usage Metrics to calculate costs
Feeds into Subscription & Billing for invoice generation
Can be configured differently per subscription
Subscription & Billing Layer Core Functionality:
Manages subscription lifecycle
Handles recurring and usage-based billing
Processes invoices and payments
Manages customer accounts and balances
Interactions:
Uses Pricing Layer to determine charges
Leverages Entitlement Layer to provision appropriate access
Coordinates with Usage Metrics for consumption-based billing
Utilizes Temporal for scheduled operations like billing cycles
Feature & Entitlement Layer Core Functionality:
Controls access to features
Enforces usage limits and quotas
Provides feature flagging capabilities
Manages customer entitlements
Interactions:
References Subscription data to determine entitlements
Uses Usage Metrics to enforce limits
Can be queried by client applications for access control
