3-Tier Architecture

Chandrasekaran Rajagopalan
Cs6704
11/01/99
Emergence

 File Sharing Architecture

 Client/Server architecture
 Two-Tier Architecture
 Three-Tier Architecture
File Sharing Architecture
 Server downloads files from shared
location to Desktop environment
 Job is run at the desktop environment
 Works if
 Shared usage is low
 Data transferred is low
 Contention is low
File-Server Architecture
Client/Server Architecture
 Database server to replace File server
 Query based approach
 Reduced traffic, since required content is
only transferred
 Improves multi-user updating
 RPC or SQL typically used
Two-Tier Architecture
 Example of C/S Architecture
 Improves scalability over File Sharing
Architecture
 Consists of 3 components
 User system interface
 Processing Management
 Database Management
Two Tier Architecture
Two-Tier Architecture
 Limitations
 Performance deteriorates if number of users
is greater than 100
 Restricted flexibility and choice of DBMS,
since data language used in server is
proprietary to each vendor
 Limited functionality in moving program
functionality across servers
Three-Tier Architecture
 To overcome the limitations of Two-Tier
Architecture
 Middle tier between UI and DB
 Ways of incorporating Middle-Tier
 Transaction processing Monitors
 Application Servers
 Message Servers
3-Tier with a TP Monitor
 Online access through
 Time sharing or Transaction Processing
 Client connects to TP instead of DB
 Monitor accepts transaction, queues it and
takes responsibility until it is completed
 Asynchrony is achieved
3-Tier with a TP Monitor
Key services provided by the monitor
 ability to update multiple different DBMS in a single
transaction
 connectivity to a variety of data sources, including
 flat files
 non relational DBMS
 mainframe
 more scaleable than a 2-tier approach
 ability to attach priorities to transactions
 robust security
 For large (e.g., 1,000 user) applications, a TP monitor is
one of the most effective solutions.
3-Tier With a Messaging Server
 A message is a self-contained element
(treated as objects)
 Message knows what it is,where to go,
what to do (Intelligent)
 Contains two parts
 Message header
 Address, id and priority
 Body of the Message
Messaging Systems
 Designed for robustness
 Independent from underlying technologies
(wired or wireless protocols)
 Use store& forward logic and provide
message delivery after and around failures
 Don’t require persistent connection
between Client and Server
 Easier to move to ORB-based 3TAs
Differences between monitor based and
message based architectures
 Transactions
 Dumb Vs Intelligent
 Middle Tier
 Less flexible Vs More flexible
 Portability
 Less portable Vs More portable (Reason: middle
layer not abstract from other layers)
3 Tier with an Application Server
 Most of Application’s business logic is
moved to Shared host server
 PC is used only for presentation services
 Approach is similar to X Architecture
 Both aim at pulling the main body of
application logic off the desktop and running
it on a shared host.
3 Tier with an Application Server
Advantages to Application Designer
 Less software on client, hence less to worry
about security
 Application is more scalable
 Less software maintenance cost
 Easier to design the application to be
DBMS-agnostic
 Allows “after the fact” application
partitioning
3-Tier With an Object DBMS
 Using ODBMS as Middle layer
 ODBMS acts as “hot Cache”
 Retrieve, assemble and Store persistent until
required
 For Generalized form of storage in DBMS (server)
may be inadequate for specific application
 E.g: Voice or Video not supported by RDBMS
Distributed/Collaborative Enterprise
Architectures
 Based on ORB technology
 Goes beyond CORBA by using shared,
reusable business models(not just objects)
 Applications built with “plug &
play”components
 Performance tuning can be made, by
transferring processes
Distributed/Collaborative Enterprise
Architectures
 same interface can be used for building a
desktop, single location application or a
fully distributed application
 application can be developed and tested
locally
 technical issues like queuing, timing and
protocols aren't an issue for the application
developer
Future ?
References
 http://news.dci.com/geos/
 http://javaexchange.com/dcb_white.html
 http://www.sei.cmu.edu/str/descriptions/
 Distributed/Collaborative Enterprise Architectures
 Two Tier Software Architectures
 Three Tier Software Architectures
 Middleware
 Client Server Software Architectures