[DTE8] Reference Architecture Description

Go to Annex B: References

Reference

Doyle, Richard, and Matthew Wilezynski. Reference Architecture Description. Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks and Information Integration, United States Department of Defense, 2010.

Bibliographic Information

Attribute	Value
Reference Identifier	[DTE8]
Title	Reference Architecture Description
Filename	ADA528722.pdf
Artifact Type	Architectural guidance document
Version	Record the authoritative version.
Document Date	2010
Authors	Richard Doyle and Matthew Wilezynski
Preparing Organization	Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks and Information Integration
Publisher	United States Department of Defense
File Format	PDF
Status	Published
URI	https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA528722.pdf

Scope

The Reference Architecture Description provides United States Department of Defense guidance for developing and applying Reference Architectures.

The publication defines the general purpose of a Reference Architecture and describes how a Reference Architecture guides and constrains multiple architectures and solutions within a subject area.

The publication also describes the structure, content, characteristics, uses, and evaluation of Department of Defense-wide Reference Architectures.

DIDO-TE uses this reference as a general architectural source. More specific DIDO-TE references apply and specialize its Reference Architecture concepts within the DIDO Test Environment.

Architectural Content

The reference addresses architectural subject areas associated with:

Strategic purposeArchitectural principlesTechnical positionsArchitectural patternsCommon vocabularyRecurring classes of problemsCommon architectural understandingStakeholder communicationGuidance and constraintsMultiple levels of abstractionMultiple architectural viewpointsSolution-architecture developmentConsistency among implementationsComparison and alignmentValidation against a Reference ArchitectureAlignment with standards, specifications, and patternsReference Architecture evaluationThe publication treats a Reference Architecture as an authoritative source of information concerning a specific subject area. The Reference Architecture guides and constrains the instantiation of multiple architectures and solutions.

Relevance to DIDO-TE

This reference provides the general architectural basis for treating DIDO-TE as a Reference Architecture.

DIDO-TE uses [DTE8] to:

Establish a common architectural vocabularyIdentify the DIDO-TE subject area and architectural scopeDescribe recurring classes of test-environment problemsEstablish architectural guidance and constraintsPromote consistency among independently developed implementationsSupport comparison and evaluation of systemsSupport validation against architectural expectationsAlign architectural content with applicable standards, specifications, and patternsSeparate architectural expectations from implementation-specific designsRelate the DIDO-TE Reference Architecture to conforming architectures and solutionsOrganize architectural content around strategic purpose, principles, technical positions, patterns, and vocabularyDIDO-TE specializes these general concepts through DIDO-TE-specific requirements, architectural models, terminology, conformance criteria, and verification methods.

Citation Use

DIDO-TE pages cite this reference using:

[DTE8]

A citation identifies the applicable section, paragraph, figure, table, definition, architectural element, or other precise source location.

For example:

[[dido:03-dido-te:99-annexes:annex-b-references:dte-008|[DTE8]]], Section 2, "Reference Architecture Definition."

When DIDO-TE derives an architectural requirement or principle from this reference, the citation identifies the source passage supporting the derivation.

When DIDO-TE specializes a general Reference Architecture concept, the citation identifies the original concept and records the resulting DIDO-TE specialization.

Source Treatment

DIDO-TE preserves the meaning of architectural concepts derived from [DTE8].

The derivation process:

Identifies the precise source locationPreserves the original architectural meaningIdentifies the applicable DIDO-TE contextRecords any terminology normalizationRecords each DIDO-TE specializationProvides a rationale for each substantive adaptationMaintains Traceability between the source concept and the resulting DIDO-TE contentDistinguishes general architectural guidance from DIDO-TE requirementsDistinguishes architectural constraints from implementation decisionsIdentifies more specific sources that establish detailed DIDO-TE obligationsA DIDO-TE specialization narrows or contextualizes a general Reference Architecture concept for the DIDO Test Environment. It does not alter the historical source.

Reference Architecture Elements

The publication identifies five elements associated with a Department of Defense-wide Reference Architecture:

Strategic Purpose: The context, scope, goals, purpose, intended uses, authoritative sources, intended audience, and stakeholder concerns of the Reference ArchitecturePrinciples: High-level foundational statements that govern architectural decisionsTechnical Positions: Technical guidance and standards derived from the architectural principlesPatterns: Generalized architectural representations that describe relationships among architectural elementsVocabulary: Terms, definitions, and acronyms that establish common understandingDIDO-TE applies these elements according to its scope, purpose, stakeholders, architectural content, and relationship to more specific source architectures.

The five elements provide an organizational framework. They do not replace the DIDO-TE requirements, models, conformance criteria, verification methods, or traceability records.

Relationship to Other References

[DTE8] supplies general Reference Architecture guidance that complements the DIDO-TE-specific and domain-specific architectural sources recorded in other references.

See:

[DTE8] establishes general Reference Architecture concepts. [DTE6] applies those concepts to structured information processing. [DTE7] applies them to governed interpretation across federated information-processing systems.

DIDO-TE draws on these sources to establish a specialized Reference Architecture for distributed Test Environments.

Cite the reference that directly supports the applicable statement, architectural concept, or requirement derivation.

Limitations

[DTE8] provides general Reference Architecture guidance.

It does not define:

DIDO-TE-specific componentsDIDO-TE NodesTest Environment structuresTest DefinitionsTest ProceduresTest ExecutionsTest EvidenceDIDO-TE implementation technologiesDIDO-TE Deployment ModelsDIDO-TE conformance criteriaDIDO-TE verification methodsMore specific DIDO-TE references, requirements, architecture sections, and glossary entries define these subjects.

Status

[DTE8] records published architectural guidance from the United States Department of Defense.

DIDO-TE uses the publication as an architectural source rather than as a DIDO-TE specification.

A later revision or replacement publication does not automatically supersede the source cited by existing DIDO-TE requirements, architecture content, Evidence, or published documents.

Record the relationship between revisions before changing the authoritative source used by DIDO-TE.

Notes for Editors

Preserve `[DTE8]` and this page namespace as stable citation identifiers.

Preserve the authoritative source file as the canonical source artifact.

Verify the authoritative author names, version, publication date, and organizational attribution against the source document.

Identify the precise section, paragraph, figure, table, definition, architectural element, or other source location when deriving DIDO-TE content from [DTE8].

Do not cite [DTE8] without a precise source location when a more precise citation is available.

Preserve the original source meaning in the provenance record. Record DIDO-TE terminology and specializations separately.

Do not classify a change to architectural meaning, scope, responsibility, relationship, principle, technical position, pattern, or constraint as an editorial correction.

Document each DIDO-TE specialization with its source, resulting expression, and rationale.

Do not derive DIDO-TE-specific components, Test Procedures, implementation technologies, Deployment Models, or conformance criteria from general Reference Architecture guidance without additional source support.

Use [DTE6] or [DTE7] when those references provide more specific architectural support for the applicable statement or requirement.

Preserve the distinction between a Reference Architecture and a specific implementation or solution architecture.

Record the revision, provenance, and supersession relationship before replacing [DTE8] with another publication.

Preserve [DTE8] when existing requirements, architecture content, Evidence, reports, or externally published documents cite it.

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