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FRAMEWORKS - HOPEX DoDAF V2 > System Viewpoint Models > SV-1 Systems Interface Description > SV1- Defining Systems

SV1- Defining Systems

A project for describing the functional architecture of an information system is used to inventory the existing systems and their interactions.

A system is the combination of physical and organizational assets configured to supply a capability.

To create a system:

1. In the navigation menu, click Systems Viewpoint > SV-1 Systems Interface Description > Systems.

2. Click New.

The new system appears in the list.

You can describe a system with several types of diagrams:

• a scenario of system flows presents the flows exchanged between the services or the microservices used by the system. A scenario can represent a particular system use case or more globally all the flows exchanged within this system.

• an application structure diagram is used to represent the interactions between the service components in the form of exchange contracts.

• an application deployment architecture is used to represent the technical elements that support the system.

Application deployment architecture

An application deployment architecture describes one of the configurations possible for system deployment. It describes how the different technical areas of the system are connected to each other and the technologies and the communication protocols that they use. A system can have a number of possible technical architectures (E.g.: autonomous installation, horizontal or vertical deployment, etc.)

The elements represented are:

• deployable application packages,

A deployable application package represents an organizational element of a system according to deployment criteria. For example, it can be the user interface or a process. Each deployable application package is associated with one or more technologies. The deployment of several deployable application packages is necessary for the system to be operational.

• deployable data packages

A deployable data package represents an organizational element of a system used to access the data necessary for the operation of this system. Each deployable application package is associated with one or more technologies (E.g.: Oracle 12, SQL Server 2012, etc.). It can allow access one or more data stores.

• technical input and output ports,

An input technical port is a point used to open communications with a deployment architecture or a deployable application package in compliance with a particular communication protocol (SMTP, HTTP, etc.).

• technical communication lines.

A technical communication line represents a technical connection between application deployment architectures or areas through input to output communication ports. The output technical port of a technical area or architecture asks the input technical port of the other technical architecture or area to open the communication line.

Application structure diagram

An application structure diagram graphically shows first level components of a system, the access points (service point and request point) and the connections between components.

The diagram includes:

• IT services used and deployed with the system.

An IT service is a software component of a system. It cannot be deployed alone.

• microservices which represent the services used independently of the system.

A microservice is a software component that can be deployed autonomously, but it does not directly provide a service to the end user.

• access, request and service points

• interactions between components.

An Interaction represents a contract between entities in a specific context inside or outside a company. These entities can be organizations, activities, or processes. The content of this contract is described in a protocol.

Scenario of sytem flows

When creating a scenario of system flows, you can choose between:

• Application Scenario Sequence Diagram

• Scenario of Application Flows Diagram

Application scenario sequence diagram

For each context of use, you can create a scenario of flow sequence diagram. It presents the same exchanges between system elements, highlighting their chronology. The elements in the scenario are represented in the diagram through lines.

A scenario of flow sequence diagram contains:

• Lines which define IT service participants

• Different types of messages exchanged between participants.

Scenario of Application Flows diagram

An application flow scenario represents the flows exchanged between the elements of the system in a given context. The elements represented are:

• application services,

• micro services,

• stores of internal or external application data,

• input or output application gates.

The interactions offered between these elements:

• application flows that carry a content,

• application flow channels that group a number of application flows on a single link,

• application data channels that represent the interactions between the application data stores.

The content of an input/output flow is automatically deduced from the content of the corresponding input/output gate. This is valid for all diagrams containing input and ouput gates.