Friday, February 17, 2012

What is the difference between N-layer and N-tier architecture?

N-layers of application may reside on the same physical computer(same tier) and the components in each layer communicates with the components of other layer by well defined interfaces.Layered architecture focuses on the grouping of related functionality within an application into distinct layers that are stacked vertically on top of each other.Communication between layers is explicit and loosely coupled.With strict layering, components in one layer can interact only with componentsin the same layer or with components from the layer directly below it.


The main benefits of the layered architectural style are:
Abstraction,Isolation, Manageability, Performance, Reusability, Testability.


N-tiers architecture usually have atleast three separate logical parts,each located on separate physical server.Each tier is responsible with specific functionality.Each tier is completely independent from all other tier, except for those immediately above and below it.Communication between tiers is typically asynchronous in order to support better scalability.


The main benefit of tier architecture styles are
1.Maintainability. Because each tier is independent of the other tiers, updates or changes can be carried out without affecting the application as a whole.
2.Scalability. Because tiers are based on the deployment of layers, scaling out an application is reasonably straightforward.
3.Flexibility. Because each tier can be managed or scaled independently, flexibility is increased.
4.Availability. Applications can exploit the modular architecture of enabling systems using easily scalable components, which increases availability.

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