Architectural Frameworks

Learn everything about Architectural Frameworks

What is an Architectural Framework

There have been numerous developments around architecture standards as the industry has evolved, starting with Single-tier Architecture for Cobol and other 3G languages, to N-Tier and Microservices with containerized workloads.

In this context, app tiers are the separation of components an application. For example, the move from Single- to Two-Tier Architectures was the separation of data from the UI and Logic, with the introduction of DBs. This introduced the role of DBAs. Three-Tier was again the separation of the UI and Logic, eventually evolving further into MVC, with a Controller between the Logic (Model) and UI (View). This introduced still popular app/dev frameworks like .Net and Java Beans.

Below is a list of some of the common architectures currently used in modern systems:

  • Model View Controller (MVC)
  • N-Tier Architecture
  • Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA)
    • Event-Driven Architecture (EDA)
    • Web-Oriented Architecture (WOA)
  • Microservice Architecture (MSA)

Layered and Segmented Architecture (Centralized)

The above architectures were traditionally considered Layered Architectures, with each layer responsible for a specific set of functions or services. Layers depend only on the layer below, and provide services to the layer above. While this approach works well for well-defined systems, it is inflexible and rigid, non-conducive to modern distributed systems, or where components bridge various technologies.

This need introduced Segmented Architectures. This approach separates systems into modules or segments (also called pods), each of which has its own set of functions or services. There are various methods of segmentation being utilized today, including:

  • Runtime Partitioning
  • Multi-tenancy
  • Platform of Platforms

These methods are all supported by various modern technologies, including:

  • Microservices and Containerization
  • Service Meshes
  • IaC, CI/CD, and GitOps

Layered and Segmented - Examples

Many modern Architecture frameworks, such as MSA, can be structured as Layered (ie LXC) or Segmented (ie Docker).

In a Layered Microservice Architecture, each layer of a service is responsible for a specific aspect of the application. For example, the presentation layer might handle user interface components, the business logic layer might handle data processing and manipulation, and the data storage layer might handle data storage and retrieval. Each layer would consist of one or more microservices that are responsible for implementing the specific functionality of that layer.

In a Segmented Microservice Architecture, each segment is responsible for a specific business capability or service. For example, one segment might handle customer management, another might handle order processing, and another might handle payment processing. Each segment would consist of one or more microservices that are responsible for implementing the specific functionality of that segment.

In fact, many Microservice Architectures use a combination of both approaches, with logical layers used to organize services within each segment or domain. Additionally, there are other architectural patterns and approaches that can be used in conjunction with Microservice Architectures, such as event-driven architectures, reactive architectures, and service-oriented architectures.

For more information, I recommend the paper from WSO2 on Layered and Segmented Architectures.

Distributed Architectures

Layered and Segmented Architectures are generally considered Centralized Architectures, and are highly focused around APIs in different forms. Because Distributed Architectures and their associated systems often follow such different frameworks, they will largely be covered in the next section.

Also, many of the above architectures can also be considered Distributed, depending on the design of the system. For example, Microservices might be distributed across many systems, or deployed to a single server or localized cluster of servers.

Popular Frameworks: Cloud & Distributed Systems

While Cloud-native and Kubernetes-based architectures are not inherently distributed, the methodologies of their design often cross-paths.

Other Popular Models/Frameworks:

References

Kubernetes References

Examples

Last modified April 28, 2023: add bookshelves post (4ff2ba8)