The patterns and practices team released the the application architecture guide last week this project guide provides design-level guidance for the architecture and design of applications built on the .NET Framework. It focuses on the most common types of applications, partitioning application functionality into layers, components, and services, and walks through their key design characteristics.This guide is a collaborative effort between patterns & practices, product teams, and industry experts.
This guide is a free download from Codeplex
http://www.codeplex.com/AppArchGuide/Release
The Architecture Meta Frame is a conceptual framework used throughout the guide. By thinking about applications in terms of scenarios, application types, architecture styles, and requirements, you can very quickly determine relevant technologies, patterns, and solution assets. You can then use the Architecture Frame as an additional lens to identify potential hot spots in your application architecture. For example, by focusing on data access or validation, you can prototype and test potential solutions to figure out the best approach for your scenario.
Few topics which it covers are mentioned below
- Architecture & Design Guidelines
- Deployment Patterns
- Architectural Styles
- Quality Attributes
- Layers & Tiers
- Presentational Layer Guidelines
- Business Layer Guidelines
- DAL Guidelines
- Service Layer Guidelines
- Application Architecture types
- Web Applications
- RIA's
- Services
- Mobile Applications
- Office Business Applications
- Sharepoint LOB Applications
This is a must read guide to all Technical Architects and also to any .net developer