server processes with proxy servers, they act as an application-aware <em>data plane</em> that’s not simply moving packets around hosts, or pulses over wires.</p><p>This pattern helps the world come to terms with <em>microservices</em>: fine-grained, loosely-coupled services connected via lightweight protocols. The common cross-platform and cross-language standards like HTTP and gRPC that replace proprietary transports, and the widespread presence of the needed libraries, empower different teams to write 