System Architecture
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A system architecture is the
conceptual model A conceptual model is a representation of a system. It consists of concepts used to help people knowledge, know, understanding, understand, or simulation, simulate a subject the model represents. In contrast, physical models are physical object su ...
that defines the
structure A structure is an arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. Material structures include man-made objects such as buildings and machines and natural objects such as ...
,
behavior Behavior (American English) or behaviour (British English) is the range of actions and mannerisms made by individuals, organisms, systems or artificial entities in some environment. These systems can include other systems or organisms as wel ...
, and more
views A view is a sight or prospect or the ability to see or be seen from a particular place. View, views or Views may also refer to: Common meanings * View (Buddhism), a charged interpretation of experience which intensely shapes and affects thou ...
of a
system A system is a group of Interaction, interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its environment (systems), environment, is described by its boundaries, ...
. An architecture description is a formal description and representation of a system, organized in a way that supports reasoning about the
structure A structure is an arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. Material structures include man-made objects such as buildings and machines and natural objects such as ...
s and
behavior Behavior (American English) or behaviour (British English) is the range of actions and mannerisms made by individuals, organisms, systems or artificial entities in some environment. These systems can include other systems or organisms as wel ...
s of the system. A system architecture can consist of system
components Circuit Component may refer to: •Are devices that perform functions when they are connected in a circuit.   In engineering, science, and technology Generic systems * System components, an entity with discrete structure, such as an assem ...
and the sub-systems developed, that will work together to implement the overall system. There have been efforts to formalize languages to describe system architecture, collectively these are called architecture description languages (ADLs).


Overview

Various organizations can define systems architecture in different ways, including: * The fundamental organization of a system, embodied in its components, their relationships to each other and to the environment, and the principles governing its design and evolution. * A representation of a system, including a mapping of functionality onto hardware and
software component Component-based software engineering (CBSE), also called component-based development (CBD), is a branch of software engineering that emphasizes the separation of concerns with respect to the wide-ranging functionality available throughout a give ...
s, a mapping of the
software architecture Software architecture is the fundamental structure of a software system and the discipline of creating such structures and systems. Each structure comprises software elements, relations among them, and properties of both elements and relations. ...
onto the
hardware architecture In engineering, hardware architecture refers to the identification of a system's physical components and their interrelationships. This description, often called a hardware design model, allows hardware designers to understand how their compon ...
, and human interaction with these components. * An allocated arrangement of physical elements which provides the design solution for a consumer product or life-cycle process intended to satisfy the requirements of the functional architecture and the requirements baseline. * An architecture consists of the most important, pervasive, top-level, strategic inventions, decisions, and their associated rationales about the overall structure (i.e., essential elements and their relationships) and associated characteristics and behavior. * A description of the design and contents of a
computer system A computer is a machine that can be programmed to carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as programs. These progr ...
. If documented, it may include information such as a detailed inventory of current hardware, software and networking capabilities; a description of long-range plans and priorities for future purchases, and a plan for upgrading and/or replacing dated equipment and software. * A formal description of a system, or a detailed plan of the system at component level to guide its implementation. * The composite of the design architectures for products and their life-cycle processes. * The structure of components, their interrelationships, and the principles and guidelines governing their design and evolution over time. One can think of system architecture as a set of representations of an existing (or future) system. These representations initially describe a general, high-level functional organization, and are progressively refined to more detailed and concrete descriptions. System architecture conveys the informational content of the elements consisting of a system, the relationships among those elements, and the
rules Rule or ruling may refer to: Education * Royal University of Law and Economics (RULE), a university in Cambodia Human activity * The exercise of political or personal control by someone with authority or power * Business rule, a rule pert ...
governing those relationships. The architectural components and set of relationships between these components that an architecture description may consist of hardware,
software Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. At the lowest programming level, executable code consists ...
, documentation, facilities, manual procedures, or roles played by organizations or people. A system architecture primarily concentrates on the internal
interface Interface or interfacing may refer to: Academic journals * ''Interface'' (journal), by the Electrochemical Society * '' Interface, Journal of Applied Linguistics'', now merged with ''ITL International Journal of Applied Linguistics'' * '' Int ...
s among the system's
components Circuit Component may refer to: •Are devices that perform functions when they are connected in a circuit.   In engineering, science, and technology Generic systems * System components, an entity with discrete structure, such as an assem ...
or
subsystem A system is a group of interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its environment, is described by its boundaries, structure and purpose and expressed ...
s, and on the interface(s) between the system and its external environment, especially the
user Ancient Egyptian roles * User (ancient Egyptian official), an ancient Egyptian nomarch (governor) of the Eighth Dynasty * Useramen, an ancient Egyptian vizier also called "User" Other uses * User (computing), a person (or software) using an ...
. (In the specific case of computer systems, this latter, special, interface is known as the
computer human interface In the industrial design field of human–computer interaction, a user interface (UI) is the space where interactions between humans and machines occur. The goal of this interaction is to allow effective operation and control of the machine f ...
, ''AKA'' human computer interface, or HCI; formerly called the man-machine interface.) One can contrast a system architecture with system architecture engineering (SAE) - the method and discipline for effectively implementing the architecture of a system: * SAE is a ''method'' because a sequence of steps is prescribed to produce or to change the architecture of a system within a
set Set, The Set, SET or SETS may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Mathematics *Set (mathematics), a collection of elements *Category of sets, the category whose objects and morphisms are sets and total functions, respectively Electro ...
of constraints. * SAE is a ''discipline'' because a body of
knowledge Knowledge can be defined as awareness of facts or as practical skills, and may also refer to familiarity with objects or situations. Knowledge of facts, also called propositional knowledge, is often defined as true belief that is distinc ...
is used to inform
practitioner Practitioner may refer to: *Health practitioner *Justice and public safety practitioner * Legal practitioner * Medical practitioner *Mental health professional or practitioner *Theatre practitioner Spiritual Practitioner * Solitary practitioner ...
s as to the most effective way to design the system within a set of constraints.


History

Systems architecture depends heavily on practices and techniques which were developed over thousands of years in many other fields, perhaps the most important being civil architecture. * Prior to the advent of digital computers, the electronics and other engineering disciplines used the term "system" as it is still commonly used today. However, with the arrival of
digital computers A computer is a machine that can be programmed to carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as programs. These programs ...
and the development of
software engineer Software engineering is a systematic engineering approach to software development. A software engineer is a person who applies the principles of software engineering to design, develop, maintain, test, and evaluate computer software. The term ''p ...
ing as a separate discipline, it was often necessary to distinguish among engineered hardware artifacts, software artifacts, and the combined artifacts. A programmable hardware artifact, or
computing machine A computer is a machine that can be programmed to carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as programs. These programs ...
, that lacks its
computer program A computer program is a sequence or set of instructions in a programming language for a computer to execute. Computer programs are one component of software, which also includes documentation and other intangible components. A computer program ...
is impotent; even as a software artifact, or program, is equally impotent unless it can be used to alter the sequential states of a suitable (hardware) machine. However, a hardware machine and its programming can be designed to perform an almost illimitable number of abstract and physical tasks. Within the computer and software engineering disciplines (and, often, other engineering disciplines, such as communications), then, the term system came to be defined as containing all of the elements necessary (which generally includes both hardware and software) to perform a useful function. * * Consequently, within these engineering disciplines, a system generally refers to a programmable hardware machine and its included program. And a systems engineer is defined as one concerned with the complete device, both hardware and software and, more particularly, all of the interfaces of the device, including that between hardware and software, and especially between the complete device and its user (the CHI). The
hardware engineer Hardware may refer to: Technology Computing and electronics * Electronic hardware, interconnected electronic components which perform analog or logic operations ** Digital electronics, electronics that operate on digital signals *** Computer hard ...
deals (more or less) exclusively with the hardware device; the
software engineer Software engineering is a systematic engineering approach to software development. A software engineer is a person who applies the principles of software engineering to design, develop, maintain, test, and evaluate computer software. The term ''p ...
deals (more or less) exclusively with the computer program; and the systems engineer is responsible for seeing that the program is capable of properly running within the hardware device, and that the system composed of the two entities is capable of properly interacting with its external environment, especially the user, and performing its intended function. * * A systems architecture makes use of elements of both software and hardware and is used to enable design of such a composite system. A good architecture may be viewed as a 'partitioning
scheme A scheme is a systematic plan for the implementation of a certain idea. Scheme or schemer may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''The Scheme'' (TV series), a BBC Scotland documentary series * The Scheme (band), an English pop band * ''The Schem ...
,' or
algorithm In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm () is a finite sequence of rigorous instructions, typically used to solve a class of specific Computational problem, problems or to perform a computation. Algorithms are used as specificat ...
, which partitions all of the system's present and foreseeable requirements into a workable set of cleanly bounded
subsystem A system is a group of interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its environment, is described by its boundaries, structure and purpose and expressed ...
s with nothing left over. That is, it is a partitioning scheme which is exclusive, inclusive, and exhaustive. A major purpose of the partitioning is to arrange the elements in the sub systems so that there is a minimum of interdependencies needed among them. In both software and hardware, a good sub system tends to be seen to be a meaningful "object". Moreover, a good architecture provides for an easy mapping to the user's requirements and the validation tests of the user's requirements. Ideally, a mapping also exists from every least element to every requirement and test. *


Types

Several types of systems architectures (underlain by the same fundamental principles) have been identified as follows: *
Hardware architecture In engineering, hardware architecture refers to the identification of a system's physical components and their interrelationships. This description, often called a hardware design model, allows hardware designers to understand how their compon ...
*
Software architecture Software architecture is the fundamental structure of a software system and the discipline of creating such structures and systems. Each structure comprises software elements, relations among them, and properties of both elements and relations. ...
* Enterprise architecture * Collaborative systems architectures(such as the Internet, intelligent transportation systems, and joint air defense systems) * Manufacturing systems architectures * Strategic systems architecture''Choosing A Strategic Systems Architecture''
by Brad Day


See also

*
Arcadia (engineering) ARCADIA (Architecture Analysis & Design Integrated Approach) is a system and software architecture engineering method based on architecture-centric and model-driven engineering activities. History In the development cycle of a system, former p ...
*
Architectural pattern (computer science) An architectural pattern is a general, reusable solution to a commonly occurring problem in software architecture within a given context. The architectural patterns address various issues in software engineering, such as computer hardware perf ...
*
Department of Defense Architecture Framework The Department of Defense Architecture Framework (DoDAF) is an architecture framework for the United States Department of Defense (DoD) that provides visualization infrastructure for specific stakeholders concerns through viewpoints organized b ...
*
Enterprise architecture framework An enterprise architecture framework (EA framework) defines how to create and use an enterprise architecture. An architecture framework provides principles and practices for creating and using the architecture description of a system. It struct ...
*
Enterprise information security architecture Enterprise information security architecture (ZBI) is a part of enterprise architecture focusing on information security throughout the enterprise. The name implies a difference that may not exist between small/medium-sized businesses and larger ...
*
Process architecture Process architecture is the structural design of general process systems. It applies to fields such as computers (software, hardware, networks, etc.), business processes ( enterprise architecture, policy and procedures, logistics, project managemen ...
*
Requirements analysis In systems engineering and software engineering, requirements analysis focuses on the tasks that determine the needs or conditions to meet the new or altered product or project, taking account of the possibly conflicting requirements of the ...
*
Software architecture Software architecture is the fundamental structure of a software system and the discipline of creating such structures and systems. Each structure comprises software elements, relations among them, and properties of both elements and relations. ...
*
Software engineering Software engineering is a systematic engineering approach to software development. A software engineer is a person who applies the principles of software engineering to design, develop, maintain, test, and evaluate computer software. The term '' ...
* Systems architect *
Systems analysis Systems analysis is "the process of studying a procedure or business to identify its goal and purposes and create systems and procedures that will efficiently achieve them". Another view sees system analysis as a problem-solving technique that b ...
*
Systems design Systems design interfaces, and data for an electronic control system to satisfy specified requirements. System design could be seen as the application of system theory to product development. There is some overlap with the disciplines of system a ...
*
Systems engineering Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary field of engineering and engineering management that focuses on how to design, integrate, and manage complex systems over their enterprise life cycle, life cycles. At its core, systems engineering util ...


References


External links

{{Commonscat
Principles of system architectureINCOSE Systems Architecture Working GroupJournal of Systems Architecture
Systems engineering Software architecture