The Software Architect Elevator

Part II. Architecture

Defining architecture isn’t an easy task—there appear to be almost as many definitions of IT architecture as there are practicing architects.

Beyond Software Architecture

Most software architecture definitions cite a system’s elements and components plus their interrelationships. In my view, this covers only one aspect of architecture. First, IT architecture is much more than software architecture: unless you outsourced all your IT infrastructure into the public cloud, you need to architect networks, datacenters, computing infrastructure, storage, and much more. And even if you did, you still need a deployment architecture, a data architecture, and a security architecture. Second, defining which “components” you are focusing on constitutes a significant aspect of architecture.

Note

A manager once stated that he can’t understand the many network issues despite all the network stuff “being there.” His view was a physical one: Ethernet cables plugged into servers and switches. The complexity of network architecture, however, lies in virtual network segregation, routing, address translation, and much more. Different stakeholders see different parts of the architecture.

Three Kinds of Architecture

When speaking about architecture, people routinely refer to three quite different concepts, all of which relate to IT but are very different in nature:

1. A system’s architecture, defined by its structure, as in "microservices architecture"

2. The act of defining a ...