SYSTEMS INFRASTRUCTURE &

INTEGRATION
Week 10 (18 ─ 22 Sep)
Pakiso J. Khomokhoana (PhD)
19 Sep, 2023

T: +27 51 401 9396 | E: [email protected] | www.ufs.ac.za/cs

T: 051 401 2754 [email protected] www.ufs.ac.za/it

 TOPICS
Internet and Distributed Application Services
 DISTRIBUTED SOFTWARE ARCHITECTURE

Distributed computing or distributed processing:

Distributes parts of an IS across many computer
systems and locations.
 CLIENT/SERVER ARCHITECTURE
 A method of organizing software to provide and access
distributed information and computing resources.

 Divides software into two classes:

Server:
Manages system resources.
Provides access to these resources through a well-
defined communication interface.

Client:
Uses the communication interface to request
resources.
Server responds to these requests.
 3 LAYER CLIENT/SERVER ARCHITECTURE
Three-layer architecture:
Divides application software into the following
layers or tiers:
The data layer – manages stored data, usually in
databases.
The business logic layer – carries out the rules and
procedures that define or constrain how business
operates.
The view layer – accepts user input and formats and
displays processing results.
 3 LAYER CLIENT/SERVER ARCHITECTURE
(CONT. [1])
3-layer architectures:
Employ three layers.
3-TIER ARCHITECTURE – MORE EXAMPLES
3-TIER ARCHITECTURE – MORE EXAMPLES
(CONT. [1])
 N-TIER ARCHITECTURE
N-layer architectures or Multi-tier:
Employ more than three layers.
N-TIER ARCHITECTURE – EXAMPLE 1
N-TIER ARCHITECTURE – EXAMPLE 2
N-TIER ARCHITECTURE – EXAMPLE 3
BUT 1 TIER?
BUT 2 TIER?
 MIDDLEWARE
System software that implements communication
standards and gives clients and servers the ability to
interact.

More complex multitier applications might need

additional middleware.
 PEER-TO-PEER ARCHITECTURE

Enable processes to communicate

synchronously across a network.
Often used by system software to
exchange data and coordinate activities.
In essence, each computer acts as a
client when accessing files on other
computers and a server when
providing files to other computers.
PEER-TO-PEER ARCHITECTURE – EXAMPLE 1
PEER-TO-PEER ARCHITECTURE – EXAMPLE 2
 INDIVIDUAL READING SECTIONS

Network Resource Access:

Pages 477 ─ 481

Directory Services:
Pages 482 ─ 486

Inter-process Communication:
Pages 487-489
 STANDARD WEB PROTOCOLS AND SERVICES
 Web resources are identified by a unique Uniform Resource Locator (URL):
http://averia.unm.edu:80/default.htm
 Four components of a URL (see Diagram below):
 Protocol – An optional header specifying the resource access protocol (if omitted,
the default value is "http://").
 Host – The IP address or registered name of an Internet host computer or device
 Port – An optional port number that, together with an IP address, specifies a socket
(if omitted, a standard port number for the protocol is assumed).
 Resource – The complete pathname to a resource on the host (if omitted, the host
can return a default resource if configured to do so).

URL components
 STANDARD WEB PROTOCOLS AND SERVICES (CONT. [1])
 Hypertext Markup Language (HTML):
 The Web began with the development of Hypertext Markup Language (HTML).
 Originally, HTML defined a device-independent document-formatting language in which
links to other documents could be embedded.
 Both HTML and Web browser software have evolved through several generations to
include capabilities, such as forms, style sheets, data transfer from client to server, and
embedded scripts and programs.

 Extensible Markup Language (XML):

– Extends HTML (XHTML) to describe the structure, format, and content of documents.

 Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP):

 A companion protocol to HTML and XML that specifies the language by which clients
request documents and how servers respond to those requests [documents’ sharing over
the web].
 HTTP is an extension of an older Web protocol, called File Transfer Protocol (FTP).

 File Transfer Protocol (FTP):

 specifies a client/server request and response language for copying files from one
Internet host to another.
 Because HTTP is an extension of FTP, servers that respond to HTTP requests can also
respond to FTP requests.
EXAMPLE 1
EXAMPLE 2
 STANDARD WEB PROTOCOLS AND SERVICES
(CONT. [2])
 HTTPS:
 A secure version of HTTP that encrypts HTTP requests and
responses.
 Telnet protocol:
 Makes it possible for users on one Internet host to interact with the OS
command layer of another host (see Diagram below).
 Enables setting up a connection to a remote system in such a manner
that the local terminal appears to be at the remote terminal.
 Telnet emulates a character-based display device and keyboard and is
limited to interacting with command-line interfaces, such as Windows
Cmd.exe and the UNIX Bourne shell. Remote host

Local host
TELNET CONNECTIONS
 STANDARD WEB PROTOCOLS AND SERVICES
(CONT. [2])
 Secure Shell (SSH):
An improved version of Telnet that encrypts data flowing
between client and server.

 Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP):

A proprietary Microsoft protocol that supports a remote
command layer interface with a full graphical user
interface.
Though not a true Web protocol, it is supported by most OSs
and many devices.
RDP is commonly used by end users to operate software on
remote clients.
Desktop virtualization, which provides access to centrally-
managed virtualized workstations usually relies on RDP.
Many IT professionals use RDP for remote server
administration.
 STANDARD WEB PROTOCOLS AND SERVICES
(CONT. [3])
Email Protocols and Standards:
 Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)
 Earliest e-mail protocol.
 Defines how text messages are forwarded and routed between Internet
hosts.
 E-mail client programs on each host interact with a server process to access
forwarded messages and send messages to users on other hosts.

 Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME)

 Extends SMTP to allow including non-text files in e-mail messages.

 Post Office Protocol 3 (POP3)

 POP3 standardizes the interaction between e-mail clients and servers so
that client and server can run on different Internet hosts.
 Under POP3, e-mail messages are held on the server temporarily,
downloaded to the client when a connection is established, and deleted
from the server as soon as the download is finished.

 Internet Message Access Protocol 4 (IMAP4)

 Extends POP3 to permanently store and manage e-mail messages on
the server, which enables users to access stored e-mail from any Internet
host.
 INDIVIDUAL READING SECTIONS

Web Application and Services:

Pages 494 ─ 495

Components and Distributed Objects:

Pages 495 ─ 502
 MODERN DISTRIBUTION MODELS
 The term cloud computing summarizes new approaches to
distributing and accessing software and hardware services across the
Internet.

 The term cloud also embodies the concepts of change and size:
 The Internet and cloud computing change shape and can grow
over time.

 Three distribution models of the cloud computing paradigm:

 Software as a service (SaaS).
 Platform as a service (PaaS).
 Infrastructure as a service (IaaS).
 SOFTWARE AS A SERVICE
A Web-based architectural approach in which users
interact via a Web browser or other Web-enabled view
layer with application software provided by a third
party.

Instead of installing application software on locally

owned and administered computers, application
software is installed on computers owned by a
software provider and the user accesses this software
over the Internet.

Services are defined in large chunks and the

resources providing services are no longer local.
 PLATFORM AS A SERVICE
 Describes an architectural approach in which an
organization rents access to system software and
hardware on which it installs its own application software
and other services.
 Example:
A hosted Web site.
Typically, the user organization develops Web content
on a desktop computer or an inexpensive local test
server.
After the content is developed, it is uploaded to a
platform provider that places the site on its own servers
and makes it accessible to the intended users.
 The customer retains ownership of the content and
applications and can move them to another platform or
service provider if needed.
 INFRASTRUCTURE AS A SERVICE
Similar in many ways to PaaS, but the service provider
supplies little or no system software.

Hardware virtualization is a key supporting technology

in IaaS because it enables a customer/user to
configure application and system software for a
generic platform as virtual servers and then deploy
these servers to a third-party hosting site.

The customer is responsible for purchasing and

configuring most or all software components, including
application, system and database software and
encapsulating them in virtual servers that are
compatible with the hosting infrastructure.
 RISKS
 Vendor reliability is a critical issue.
 Vendor lock-in is a risk, although its level varies across
architectures (e.g., service migration).
 Service availability (control and flexibility).
 Data security and privacy.
 Legal ownership of stored data.
 Vulnerability to attack.
 Data confidentiality.
 Internet connection dependency.
 Customer support.
 Vendor business exit.
 Thank You!

T: 051 401 2754 [email protected] www.ufs.ac.za/it