Detail-level technical architecture definition requires the generation of various types of diagrams. These diagrams are created using a standardized modeling notation. Just as BPMN is used as the nota

Running head: REFERENCE ARCHITECTURE DEVELOPMENT 1

Reference Architecture Development

Reference Architecture

Reference architecture (RA) is defined to as an abstract conceptualization of the architectural model detailing all the best practices (Nakagawa, Antonino, & Becker, 2011). It comprises of all the information that the project managers access and which consists a set of architectural best practices. It is generally agreed that reference architecture serves as an asset base for which the project can draw from at the beginning and at the end of the project. The reference architecture is derived from organizational best practices, user needs, and design patterns. Researching reference architecture to use has never been easy. It is costly, time consuming and pedagogical in nature. However, the venture is worth it because it assists in reducing technological mistakes and hence ensuring that the project implementation flows seamlessly during its life cycle.

The reference architecture therefore is a masterpiece diagram that lays down all the important aspects of the program which software developer need to follow to avoid instantiations and errors. In Figure 1, the reference architecture for the Adopt-A-Farm program is provided showing the interactive elements from when farmers and volunteers access the program to how it relates to various aspects of the program.

Ideally, the reference has five layers, though international software development best practices places the layer at even more, while at the basic four layers must be provided. Due to the complexity and needs of the Adopt-A-Farm program, the layers that were needed included the internet or web browsing layer, presentation layer, business logic layer, data base access layer, and the data base server layer. These layers must work together, seamless, accurately while at the same time providing maximum security.

Figure 1: Adopt-A-Farm Reference Architecture

The reference architecture as shown in the context diagram has five layers. These are the web browser layer, which connects to the presentation layer. The presentation layer is created on ASP.2 and hence it is cache dependent. The system does not have to create new cache every time a request is made rather all that need to be done is to retrieve the query objects from memory saved in user gadgets. In the presentation layer, volunteers, and farmers can access the system via the interface. The presentation layer preforms authentication and authorization as it hosts user accounts and logins. The presentation, layer hosts the profile provider where information regarding local farms, carts and order can also be processed.

In the business logic layer, important details are provided. They include the tasks conducted by the system which includes local farms, climate news, order request and inventory. It has a philosophical connotation in that as the business progress, new business needs will have to be updated. The system is supported on oracles, and SQL 2000. The specific databases that support the system are profile membership, membership database, financial and inventory management, and administration database.

Products and Capabilities in RA

Identifying the right vendors in the process of software development is extremely vital. The reference architecture not only provides the guidelines but the need for functional vendor items with the needed capacity. Functionality for software development products is essential as well for ensuring interoperability of the system. Interoperability is the element of the system being interconnected with the different independent business systems. When selecting the right products users should serve as the guiding factor.

The first vendor product needed for the reference architecture is MySQL 2000. The database is currently owned by oracle, and its license is open-source hence free. However, the relational enterprise database is entirely free because under Oracle there are some modules that are closed source. MySQL. It is a good database that provides for the web-based scaling essential for the performance of Adopt-A-Farm enterprise system. The second vendor product is my asp.net cache provider. The technology is not outdated in the province of software design and has become popular thanks to its web optimizing capacity. The product was chosen because easily synchronizes with MySQL database. Caching is very essential for the development of a very high-performance web service.

The third vendor product is WCF, which stands for Windows Communication Foundation. The service is essential for creating interoperable and distributable application. Augmented in .Net 3.0 framework, the technology product is used to create applications that are service oriented. I chose the service because it can exchange messages using any format. Since Adopt-A-Farm program is designed to ensure flawless communication between local farms, volunteers and vendors; WCF proxy is the one that is most appropriate over any other transport protocol. WCF is the best suited for the reference architecture because it uses WCF and DataContractSerializer, hence has the business capacity needed for the kind of program and application Adopt-A-Farm are looking forward to possessing.

Implementation Model

Reference implementation refers to the standard from which system customization and any other implementation is derived from. The reference implementation is a gold standard upon which all the implementation is based.

Figure 2: Reference Implementation Model

References

Nakagawa, E.Y., Antonino, P.O., & Becker, M. (2011). Reference Architecture and product line

architecture: A subtle but critical difference. In European Conference on Software Architecture (pp. 207-211). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.