Web-Based System Engineering: Web-Based Application Configuration Based Upon Restrictions Imposed By Network Architecture

Although the World Wide Web (WWW) often acts as a middleware for enterprise systems, web-based systems often fail to provide the desired performance. A potential cause is that, design problems although interrelated are solved in isolation. We, thus, propose a methodology for configuring web-based systems considering the relationship between web-based application architecture and the underlying network infrastructure. It is important to note the significance of a common model for the representation of web-based system entities throughout all stages. The proposed model enables the identification of the otherwise unclear application specific dependencies between discrete stages. UML notation is adopted for web-based system representation. Each entity of the proposed model, either composite or simple, is depicted using distinctive UML symbols. Alternative views of the system emphasizing specific configuration stages are offered through UML package representation.