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Multi-Tier Network Architecture: Two-Tier Architecture
Multi-Tier Network Architecture: Two-Tier Architecture
A multi-tier architecture is also called n-tier architecture because the software is engineered to have the processing, data management, and presentation functions physically and logically separate. That means that these different functions are hosted on several machines or clusters, ensuring that services are provided without resources being shared and, as such, these services are delivered at top capacity. The “N” in the name n-tier architecture refers to any number from 1. Let's continue the discussion in the article below.
Earlier Article: Multi-Tier Network Architecture: Basic Concepts
What does Two Tier Architecture mean?
A two-tier system consists of a client and a server. A two-tier architecture is a software architecture in which a presentation layer or interface runs on a client, and a data layer or data structure gets stored on a server.
In other words, the database is stored on the server, and the interface used to access the database is installed on the client.
You can see a diagram of Two Tier Architecture above.
Separating these two components into different locations represents two-tier architecture, as opposed to single-tier architecture. Other kinds of multi-tier architectures add additional layers in distributed software design.
The user system interface is usually located in the user’s desktop environment and the database management services are usually in a server that is more powerful machine that services many clients.
Now let's talk about some advantages and disadvantages of this model.
Let's begin with some advantages:
• The system performance is higher because business logic and database are physically close.
• Since processing is shared between the client and server, more users could interact with system.
• By having simple structure, it is easy to setup and maintain entire system smoothly.
This system is too, not free of disadvantages such as:
• Performance deteriorates if number of users increases.
• There is restricted flexibility and choice of DBMS, since data language used in server is proprietary to each vendor.
Well, that's all on Two tier architecture. We will discuss 3 tier architecture in the next article. Stay tuned for that.
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