How Configuration Externalization Works

This lesson covers the parts of the pattern and how they work together.

The Two Parts

The pattern has two parts: the service and the configuration server.

The service asks for its settings when it starts, and again at intervals or when it is told to. The request says which service is asking and which environment it is running in.

The configuration server answers with the values for that service in that environment. Those values can be database settings, API keys, timeouts, or anything else that differs between environments.

The exchange happens over the network, at run time