System Architecture

stage. Websites can no longer be considered as a set of interconnected webpages that can be managed by a document management system.

Like any application that requires a minimum level of industrial robustness, websites require a three-tier architecture that includes:

􀂃 A presentation tier that covers the graphical user interface with all its aesthetics and interactions. It allows users to retrieve and enter data.

􀂃 An object tier that covers all the algorithms related to business rules, data validation, work flow, etc. The modules of this second tier reside on a server machine, to assist in resource sharing.

􀂃 A data tier that includes all the static and dynamic content.

This three-tier architecture offers scalability, reusability, flexibility, manageability, maintainability, multi-threading, load balancing, fault-tolerance, recovery, security, internationalization, etc. Code, components, modules, and web services can be created, distributed, and used across the network as required.