Chapter 21: Systems Architecture

Overview

By now, you probably can't wait to get started and build your application. You've planned the system, chosen your people, selected an appropriate methodology, and gleaned specifications detailing exactly what it is you're going to build. There is, however, one final step you need to consider.

As a software architect or project manager, you may well be tempted to overlook the systems side of things. After all, you only build the thing. It's somebody else's problem as to how it gets deployed, right?

Well, that may be true, but having the moral high ground doesn't get Web sites launched. At the end of the day, if it's your application that's not running up to snuff (or worse, not at all), the blame is going to rest squarely on your shoulders.

In this short chapter, you'll learn the basis of systems architecture what it is, why it's important, and how to effectively design one appropriate for your project based on the decisions you've already made about the architecture of the application itself.