EasySearch is a microservices-based travel application built as a Master's capstone project. It leverages AI to provide personalized travel recommendations and seamless booking experiences through a scalable, modular architecture.
EasySearch follows a microservices architecture, separating concerns into independent, loosely-coupled services that communicate through an API Gateway. This design allows for independent development, deployment, and scaling (both vertical and horizontal) of each service.
The diagram above illustrates the overall system architecture with the Angular front-end communicating through an API Gateway to three core microservices.
- Angular Front-End: Modern, responsive web interface
- API Gateway: Central entry point for all client requests with JWT-based authentication
- Chatbot System: AI-powered travel assistant
- Account System: User management and authentication
- Blog System: Personalized travel content and recommendations based on user profile
Each microservice maintains its own database, ensuring data independence and service autonomy.
-
Client calls Auth Microservice
- Sends credentials (username/password)
- Auth Microservice returns a JWT
-
Client calls another API through API Gateway
- Sends JWT in the
Authorization: Bearerheader
- Sends JWT in the
-
API Gateway validates the JWT
- Checks signature, expiration, and claims
- Rejects the request if the JWT is invalid
-
If JWT is valid
- Gateway forwards the request to the downstream service
-
Downstream service processes the request
- Returns the response to the API Gateway
- API Gateway forwards the response back to the client
Token Validation Parameters
- Issuer: easysearch-microservice-accountapi
- Audience: easysearch-frontend-web
- Algorithm: HMAC-SHA256
- Expiration: 10 days from token generation
Central entry point that handles routing and JWT authentication validation.
Key Features:
- Routes requests to appropriate downstream services
- Validates JWT tokens before forwarding requests
- Supports environment-specific configuration (Development/Production)
- Configured with Ocelot for dynamic routing
Technology:
- Ocelot API Gateway
- JWT Bearer Authentication
- Duende.IdentityModel
Handles user authentication, authorization, and profile management.
Key Features:
- User registration and login
- JWT token generation
- Role-based access control
- ASP.NET Core Identity integration
Database: EasySearchAccountApi (SQL Server LocalDB)
Technology:
- ASP.NET Core Identity
- Entity Framework Core
- JWT token generation with symmetric key signing
- Repository pattern for data access
AI-powered conversational interface for travel assistance.
Key Features:
- Integration with OpenAI GPT-3.5 Turbo
- Location-aware responses using geolocation data
- Custom responses based on prior prompts
- Optimized for travelers with visual impairments
- Customizable prompt engineering for accessibility
Technology:
- OpenAI API
- Custom prompt engineering for accessibility
- Geolocation integration (latitude/longitude support)
Manages travel content, articles, and user-generated recommendations based on user profiles.
Planned Features:
- Blog post management
- Smart user profiles: Detailed and intuitive forms that capture rich user information to power AI-driven, personalized content and lifestyle suggestions- Personalize Suggestions based on the user profile
- Travel recommendations
- User-generated content
- Content categorization