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copied!<p>The correct architecture for a given problem depends entirely on the problem. Your question is too general to offer a real answer, other than to say I keep the architecture as simple as I can to account for all known and expected requirements, but no simpler.</p> <p>EDIT:</p> <p>For "typical" business solutions, here are some of the factors that I consider:</p> <ul> <li><p>UI</p> <ul> <li>Can it be web-based? What are the user interaction requirements?</li> <li>If a classic web interface is not sufficient, can I use a more interactive technology such as Sliverlight?</li> <li>If it has to be thick-client (yes, there are still scenarios that justify that), how serious are the deployment challenges? Small user base, large user base? Do I need to include automatic updating? Does it need to be enforced?</li> </ul></li> <li><p>Business Layer</p> <ul> <li>Do I have performance/scalability considerations that require a physically separate business layer? (My business layers are always logically separate, and easy to physically separate if need be. I sometimes use <a href="http://www.lhotka.net/cslanet/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">CSLA</a> to allow for that decision at deployment time when targeting Windows, but that's a heavy framework and not always appropriate).</li> <li>How simple or complex are my business rules? Are they likely to evolve considerably over time? Is it worth incorporating a rules engine such as <a href="http://jboss.org/drools/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Drools</a>?</li> <li>Are there asynchronous processing requirements? Do I need a work queue system?</li> <li>Are there external systems to interface with? What types of interfaces to they present? Web service, COM+, XML over HTTP, proprietary, DB, batch files, ...?</li> </ul></li> <li><p>Data Persistence</p> <ul> <li>What ORM choices are available to me given any pre-existing platform choices/constraints?</li> <li>Will I benefit from extensive use of stored procedures? Will there be a DBA to maintain stored procedures and modify them over time? If no DBA, I only use stored procedures where really necessary for performance. If there is a DBA, more extensive use of stored procedures gives the DBA flexibility to manage the physical architecture independent of the application (but as with all added complexity, that comes with a cost).</li> </ul></li> <li><p>Cross-Cutting</p> <ul> <li>What are the security requirements? Is there an existing mechanism (Active Directory/LDAP/...) to be integrated with? Do I need to support role-based security?</li> <li>What are the operational monitoring requirements? "Report this bug" functionality? Simple logging?</li> </ul></li> </ul>

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