Chapter 2 - Architectures

Introduction

ƒ how to organize the collection of software components

ƒ we will discuss
ƒ logical organization and physical organization
ƒ i.e., software or system architectures: how they are
organized and how they communicate
ƒ architectural styles
ƒ system architectures: centralized (client-server) vs
decentralized ones (where machines play equal roles)

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2.1 Architectural Styles
ƒ refers to the logical organization of distributed systems
into software components
ƒ a component is a modular unit with well-defined, required
and provided interfaces that is replaceable within its
environment; can be replaced provided that we respect its
interfaces
ƒ a connector is a mechanism that mediates
communication, coordination, or cooperation among
components, e.g., facilities for RPC, message passing, or
streaming multimedia data
ƒ there are various architectural styles
ƒ Layered architectures
ƒ Object-based architectures
ƒ Data-centered architectures
ƒ Event-based architectures

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ƒ Layered architectures
ƒ components are organized in a layered fashion where a
component at layer Li is allowed to call components at
the underlying layer Li-1, but not the other way around;
ƒ requests go down the hierarchy and results flow
upward
ƒ e.g., network layers

the layered architectural style 4

ƒ Object-based architectures
ƒ each object corresponds to a component and these
components are connected through a remote procedure
call mechanism (matches the client-server paradigm)

the object-based architectural style

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ƒ Data-centered architectures
ƒ processes communicate through a common repository;
e.g., a shared distributed file system
ƒ Event-based architectures
ƒ processes communicate through the propagation of events
(can also optionally carry data)
ƒ publish/subscribe systems
ƒ processes publish events and the middleware ensures that
only those processes that subscribed to those events will
receive them
ƒ processes are loosely
coupled; no need of
explicitly referring to
each other

the event-based architectural style 6

ƒ Shared data spaces
ƒ event-based architectures combined with data-centered
architectures
ƒ processes are decoupled in time

the shared data-space architectural style

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2.2 System Architectures
ƒ refers to the logical organization of distributed systems
into software components or how are processes
organized in a system; where do we place software
components
ƒ deciding on software components, their interaction, and
their placement is what system architecture is all about
ƒ can be centralized, decentralized or a hybrid

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2.2.1 Centralized Architectures
ƒ thinking in terms of clients requesting services from
servers
ƒ a server is a process implementing a specific service
ƒ a client is a process that requests a service from a server
by sending a request and waiting for a reply
ƒ we have a request-reply behaviour

general interaction between a client and a server

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ƒ communication between client and server can be
ƒ by a connectionless protocol if the underlying network is
fairly reliable; efficient since there is no much overhead
ƒ but assuring reliability is difficult
ƒ we don’t also know the source of error; was the request
or the reply lost, for instance
ƒ when messages are lost or corrupted let the client send
the request again; applicable only for idempotent
operations
ƒ an operation is idempotent if it can be repeated
multiple times without harm; e.g., reading a record in a
database
ƒ but, transferring an amount to a bank account is not
idempotent
ƒ see later in Chapter 8 - Fault Tolerance
ƒ by a reliable connection-oriented protocol if the underlying
network is unreliable
ƒ establishing and terminating connections is expensive
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ƒ Application Layering
ƒ there are many controversies about the client-server
model
ƒ e.g., no clear distinction between a client and a server;
for instance a server for a distributed database may act
as a client when it forwards requests to different file
servers
ƒ three levels of distribution (following the layered
architecture)
ƒ the user-interface level: implemented by clients and
contains all that is required by a client; varying from a
character-based screen to more advanced GUI-based
interfaces (more on user interfaces in Chapter 3)
ƒ the processing level: contains the applications
ƒ the data level: contains the programs that maintain
the actual data dealt with

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ƒ e.g., the general organization of an Internet search engine
into three different layers

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ƒ Client-Server Architectures
ƒ how to physically distribute a client-server application
across several machines
ƒ Multitiered Architectures

Two-tiered architecture: alternative client-server organizations

(a) put only terminal-dependent part of the user interface on the
client machine and let the applications remotely control the
presentation 13
(b) put the entire user-interface software on the client side
(c) move part of the application to the client, e.g. checking
correctness in filling forms
(a) to (c) are for thin clients
(d) and (e) are for powerful client machines what are called fat
clients (more popular)
(d) and (e) are difficult to manage since client-side software is
distributed and is prone to error; it is also dependent on the
client’s platform such as operating system

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ƒ a server may sometimes act as a client leading to a
physically three-tiered architecture; an example is the
organization of Web sites

three tiered architecture: an example of a server acting as a client

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2.2.2 Decentralized Architectures
ƒ vertical distribution
ƒ refers to the ones discussed so far where the different
tiers correspond directly with the logical organization of
applications
ƒ place logically different components on different
machines
ƒ horizontal distribution
ƒ physically split up the client or the server into logically
equivalent parts
ƒ an example is a peer-to-peer system where processes
are equal and hence each process acts as a client and a
server at the same time (servent)
ƒ read about the different approaches of peer-to-peer
architecture - pages 44 - 51 and about Architectures
versus Middleware - pages 54 - 66

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ƒ another example is the horizontal distribution of a Web
service

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