Architecting Network-Centric Software Systems: A Style-Based Beginning

TL;DR

This paper introduces a network-centric architectural style for software systems, based on core NCO concepts, to better understand and realize their operational characteristics in the evolving network technology landscape.

Contribution

It proposes a new architectural style outline that captures network-centric system characteristics and guides their implementation, addressing conflicting interpretations of NCO in software architecture.

Findings

Defines core NCO concepts and goals

Identifies operational characteristics of network-centric systems

Proposes an architectural style outline for network-centric software

Abstract

With the advent of potent network technology, software development has evolved from traditional platform-centric construction to network-centric evolution. This change involves largely the way we reason about systems as evidenced in the introduction of Network- Centric Operations (NCO). Unfortunately, it has resulted in conflicting interpretations of how to map NCO concepts to the field of software architecture. In this paper, we capture the core concepts and goals of NCO, investigate the implications of these concepts and goals on software architecture, and identify the operational characteristics that distinguish network-centric software systems from other systems. More importantly, we use architectural design principles to propose an outline for a network-centric architectural style that helps in characterizing network-centric software systems and that provides a means by which their distinguishing operational characteristics can be realized.