Architecture and Design of Distributed Enterprise Systems

Prerequisites:

You will need a knowledge of client/server concepts and technology.
Knowledge of object-oriented technology, OO modelling, ER modelling and a programming language would be an advantage, but are not essential.

Experienced IT professionals, such as system analysts, technical architects, integrators, application designers and senior developers wishing to gain a broad and pragmatic understanding of the principles and technologies used to building robust distributed enterprise architectures. Those delegates wishing to simply gain an overview of Distributed Systems may be better served by attending our Understanding Corporate Computing course.

Course Description:

Client/server, 3-tier and n-tier distributed systems open up new opportunities and ways to design systems and develop applications. They form the infrastructure for enterprise-wide core business, database, workflow and web applications. This course examines the process from architecture through to design of distributed enterprise systems and looks at many of the architecture and design choices that need to be made. The use of the three major component technologies in building flexible distributed computing architectures are also studied.

An object-oriented modelling approach is often used to describe business requirements, identify components, their interactions and placement in a multi-tier environment. The course examines an OO model, the infrastructure necessary to support distributed applications and the trade-offs in cost, performance and scalability.

Relational Database Management Systems (RDBMSs) still provide the core technology for implementing many distributed enterprise systems.

Throughout the course, architectural choices and considerations for distributed systems are presented and case studies are used.

On Completion Delegates Will Be Able To:

• Design client/server architectures and understand how components fit together with an emphasis on performance and scalability
• Articulate how the Internet, object technology and component technologies fit into client/server architectures
• Understand the structure of different database models and their limitations=
• Map OO designs to relational databases
• Decide when TP monitors are required and understand their capabilities
• Choose between a variety of database, component and IPC middleware

This course includes the following modules:

Enterprise Systems

• Enterprise systems; architectures; overview of inetgration technologies

Multi-tier Architectures

• Gartner model of Client/server; Microsoft architectures; CORBA model; J2EE model

Internet/Intranet Applications

• Client/server and the Internet; Types of applications; Database engines and the web; CGI and extensions; scripting, ASP.Net; Servlets and JSPs; Struts; Web Frameworks

Security

• Issues and solutions; Encryption; Authentication; Certification; Transactional Security; SSL, PCT, SET

Inter Process Communications

• Networked IPC; Synchronous/asynchronous IPC; RPC; Messaging and transactional messaging; other IPC methods

Message Oriented Middleware

• Comparison with RPC; Architectures; JMS as provider; Types of payload; Typical uses; Performance criteria

Extensible Markup Language

• XML basics; Data exchange; XML grammars

Database Technology

• Types of database; SQL database servers; Limits to procedures and triggers; Distributed data; Database middleware; design considerations

Data Replication

• Benefits and issues; Types of replication; Synchronisation; Lag; Refreshing data

Transaction Processing

• Types of transactions; OLTP systems; Rollback and undo; Design considerations; Distributed transactions; Transaction Managers

Object Technology Principles

• Classes/objects, Behaviour, identity, message passing, state; Interface vs implementation; Visibility; Frameworks and libraries

Object Analysis and Design

• OO methods; The UML; Use Cases; Scenarios and sequence diagrams; System design; Deployment diagram

Performance, Scaleability and Testing

• Measuring performance; Risk reduction; benchmarking; Stepwise and modular testing; early integration testing; Automated tools

Components and the Middle Tier

• Definition; Using components; Elements of the Component solution; Middle tier considerations; Application servers; State; Pooling

CORBA and EJB

• CORBA overview; Interfaces, services, facilities; EJB overview; EJB roles; Packaging; Transaction support; Session vs. Entity; Interoperability; Sample Implementations

Microsoft Component Technology

• DNA; Component Object Model; DCOM; Microsoft Transaction Server; COM+; The .NET Framework

Web Service Protocols

• SOAP messages; WSDL structure; Overview of UDDI; Publishing an XML Web Service;

Service Oriented Architectures

• Goals of an SOA; What are Services; Requirements of an SOA; Typical architectures;

Integration options

• Heterogeneous environments; The Web as integrator; Using Web Services; MOM for EAI; Orchestration; Other techniques; Design considerations

Evaluating Architectures

• Methodologies; Choosing evaluation criteria; Documenting architectures

Case Studies

• Several real-life systems ranging in scale are examined