The Internet has transformed from a mere publishing medium to an important communication and business facility. Among the many vendors that provide web-based solutions, multi-tiered system architecture became extremely popular. Developing with multiple tiers increases the scalability, performance, and reliability of distributed applications. Server components can be distributed across any number of servers to boost system availability. Rapid modification to these components is possible when business rules or economic conditions dictate. And the location-independence of these components allows system administrators to easily reconfigure system load. The challenge to IT professionals today is to efficiently develop and deploy applications for use on both corporate intranets and over the Internet. Among multi-tiered system architecture, three-tiered client/server architecture provides an environment which supports all of the benefits of both the one-tiered approach and the two-tiered approach while supporting the goals of a flexible architecture.   Our Philosophy The three tiers refer to the three logical component parts of an application, not to the number of machines used by the application. The three-tiered application model splits an application into its three logical component types, Presentation Tier, Business Logic Tier, and Enterprise Information System (EIS) Tier. Application components can be shared by any number of application systems. The application components, which are developed using the best tool for the job, can be deployed across one or more physical systems. The application components communicate with each other using an abstract interface, which hides the underlying function performed by the component. The n-tiered architecture offers many advantages including: Object reuse: The advantages of a multi-tiered environment extend beyond the life cycle of a single application. In fact, what is being built is not just an application: it is a collection of client and server components that communicate through standardized, abstract interfaces, and when combined they behave like an integrated application system. Each module is actually a reusable object that can be shared by many application systems. Easier System maintenance: Since application functions are isolated within small granular application objects, application logic can be modified much more easily than ever before. A more effective use of Data and Networks: The application logic is no longer tied directly to the database structures or a particular DBMS. Individual application components work with their own encapsulated data structures which may correspond to a data base structure, or might be a data structure derived from a number of different data sources. When application objects communicate, they only need to send the data parameters as specified in the abstract interface rather than entire database records, thereby reducing network traffic. The data access objects are the only application components, which interfaces directly with the databases. A database could be completely migrated from one DBMS to another without adversely affecting the entire application: only the data access logic would need to be modified. This independence allows IT departments to react better to either business or technological changes.   back to Development Trademark Acknowledgements Any company, product or service names are trademarks or service marks of their respective companies.