serviceid

A service ID, often written as service_id or serviceid, is a unique identifier assigned to a service within a software system, network, or architecture. It serves as a stable reference that enables registration, discovery, routing, access control, and monitoring across components, environments, and teams. A service ID may be numeric, alphanumeric, a universally unique identifier (UUID), or a human-readable string. In some contexts it is a fully qualified name or a hierarchical dot-separated path (for example, com.company.service).

Formats and naming conventions vary by ecosystem. In microservice architectures and service registries, a service ID is commonly a string used as a key in configuration and discovery mechanisms. In Kubernetes and similar environments, the service name often doubles as the identity within a namespace. In API gateways and service meshes, the service ID maps to a concrete upstream endpoint and to policies such as rate limiting and authentication. Some systems version service IDs by appending a version segment, such as inventory-service-v1, to support smooth migrations and backwards compatibility.

Common uses include service discovery, request routing, access control lists, telemetry and metrics collection, and policy enforcement. Service IDs help decouple clients from concrete implementations, so services can be replaced or upgraded without breaking clients, provided the IDs remain stable or maintain a clear migration path.

Best practices emphasize stable, unique identifiers with clear ownership and versioning strategy, documentation of scope (global vs. environment-specific), and robust migration plans to avoid ID collisions or breaking changes. See also service name, service registry, and service mesh.