Enterprise System Architectures: Building Client Server and Web Based Systems

I purchased this book to review it for a professor. She was considering switching textbooks for a class. I found the book enlightening on a subject that was new to me.

This book provides a macro view of a comprehensive architecture and then systematically decomposes it into its component parts. The scope of architecture goes well beyond the technical underpinnings by extending to processes and tools. The first section covers an overview of "netcentric" computing and ties it to business imperatives. "Netcentric" within the context is all encompassing and fits within e-business and the older client/server paradigms. Technical components are thoroughly dissected in Section II, and are placed into the framework of processes and services. I especially liked the operations architecture discussed because it is often overlooked. Another excellent chapter in this section covers transition frameworks, which addresses some of the thorniest issues faced by CIOs and operations managers as systems evolve to fit the e-commerce and extended supply chain models that considered contemporary. Section III thoroughly covers designing and implementing solutions, and is, in my opinion, completely on the mark in all respects. The chapter on testing is the best I have ever read - even in books devoted to testing. I had always been frustrated by the ambiguous use of the term "test cycle". The description and approach provided in this book clarified the concept and provided a clear roadmap for a sensible testing process. The final section covers special topics and does so in a thought-provoking manner. Each relatively short chapter compressed a lot of relevant information on the chapter's topic. It was akin to attending focused seminars on security, knowledge management and the other topics covered. This book is a desk reference, consultant's life saver and solid description of an architecture. It can easily serve as the specification document for an IT reengineering project and is nothing short of amazing for its completeness and thoroughness.

This book is an A to Z compendium of how to design, build, deploy and maintain enterprise-wide architectures. As such it is one of those rare books that should be in every architect's and consultant's short list of resources. The book is divided into four sections. The first two sections lay the groundwork by providing an overview of network-centric computing solutions, then providing the foundation in the form of architectural frameworks. Section two, in particular, is valuable because the frameworks address both application delivery (development)and service delivery factors that need to be taken into account. I like this holistic approach because production support requirements are addressed early on - something that is lacking from many such books. Section three covers the design and implementation of an architecture in great detail, with a lot of emphasis on testing, release strategy and infrastructure requirements. Section four is devoted to special topics, such as security, knowledge management and collaborative computing, and data mining. Some highlights of this section include information delivery and "componentware". What I liked most about this section was the in-depth treatment of managing costs of a production client/server environment. This book has reinforced some of my previous ideas and experience, and has opened my eyes to factors that I had not carefully considered on past projects that involved application or service delivery. I like the coherent and comprehensive approach taken in this book for all aspects of enterprise architectures, and applaud the authors for addressing the hard part: production support of solutions. This book will travel with me to every engagement and will be the first general purpose reference to which I will turn for ideas and methods. If you are a consultant or practitioner in architecture, applications delivery or service delivery this book will be a valuable addition to your library and bag of tricks.