Architecting SaaS
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The document provides a comprehensive overview of Software as a Service (SaaS), detailing its definition, benefits, and challenges alongside comparisons to Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS). It outlines the trends in cloud computing and discusses key characteristics, delivery methods, and architectural considerations relevant to SaaS solutions. Additionally, the document highlights service models, scalability, security, and examples of SaaS applications, emphasizing the growing importance and adoption of cloud computing in business operations.
Architecting SaaS
- 1. Humayun Khan CEO, AxEdge Consulting Architecting SaaS
- 2. What is SaaS? • Software as a service (SaaS) is a software distribution model (also considered as a form of cloud computing that delivers an application) in which a third-party provider hosts applications and makes them available to customers over the Internet. • SaaS is one of three main categories of cloud computing, alongside infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and platform as a service (PaaS). • SaaS accounts for approximately 24% of all enterprise workloads (up from 14% in 2016) • IaaS is hovering around 12% (up from 6%). • PaaS is currently the most popular model, hovering around 32% and expected to grow in 2020. With uptake rates like these, cloud computing is becoming the norm, and many businesses are phasing out on-premise software altogether.
- 3. On-premise, IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS • On-premise: software that’s installed in the same building as your business. • IaaS: cloud-based services, pay- as-you-go for services such as storage, networking, and virtualization. • PaaS: hardware and software tools available over the internet. • SaaS: software that’s available via a third-party over the internet. BigCommerce, Google Apps, Salesforce, Dropbox, MailChimp, ZenDesk, DocuSign, Slack, Hubspot. AWS Elastic Beanstalk, Heroku, Windows Azure (mostly used as PaaS), Force.com, OpenShift, Apache Stratos, Magento Commerce Cloud. AWS EC2, Rackspace, Google Compute Engine (GCE), Digital Ocean Examples
- 4. Cloud Computing Service Models IaaS PaaS SaaS Delivery Over the Internet Over the Internet Over the Internet Advantages Cost-effective Highly flexible Highly scalable Control over the infrastructure Platform for developers to create unique, customizable software No botheration of infrastructure services, capacity, load, scale and health monitor Don’t need to install and run software applications on your computer Subscription / Pay-as-you-go model No botheration of infrastructure and software Disadvantages Security Technical problems Upgrade & Maintenance Virtualization Services & User- Privacy Data security Compatibility of existing infrastructure Dependency on vendor’s speed, reliability and support Limited Control Limited range of solutions Limited Integration options Connectivity is a must When to Use Pay-as-you-use model Unpredictable scalable infrastructure who want to host cloud-based applications users do not want to invest in the physical servers and maintenance most cost-effective and time-effective way for a developer to create a unique application allows the developer to focus on the creative side of app development like creation, testing and deploy the app. If your company needs to launch a ready- made software quickly For short-term projects that require collaboration If you use applications on a temporary basis For applications that need both web and mobile access Characteristics pay-as-you-go storage, networking, and virtualization buy what you need, as you need it, and purchase more as your business grows Accessible by multiple users Scalable – options available Built on virtualization Easy to run Available over the internet. Scalable, with different tiers for small, medium, and enterprise-level businesses. Inclusive, offering security, compliance, and maintenance as part of the cost.
- 6. Core Drivers for SaaS Multi- Tenancy HostingData Storage Application Scalability Performance High-Availability Fault Tolerance Monitoring Data Isolation Data Extensibility Data Security Performance & Scalability Fault Tolerance & High Availability Level 1 – Ad-hoc / Custom Level 2 – Configurable Level 3 – Configurable, Multi Tenancy Efficient Level 4 – Scalable, Configurable, Multi Tenancy Efficient On-Premise Datacenter (Shared / Dedicated) Managed Hosting (IaaS) Cloud (Private / Public / Hybrid)
- 7. SaaS – Architecture Stack UX, Customization & Extendibility Service Architecture, Operation Cost Provisioning, Data, Security & Scalability Licensing, Price and Upgrade Location, Region, Availability Zone
- 8. SaaS – Application Layer Performance • Data Caching • Content Caching • Coarse Grained Interface • Asynchronous Processing Latency • Low • Near Realtime • Realtime Scalability • Load Balancing (Elastic, External, Client-side) • Stateful vs. Stateless • Partitioning Strategy Security • Encryption In Transit or Motion • Encryption At Rest High Availability • Request Queuing • Concurrency Control Fault Tolerance • Failover Cluster (Active / Active) • Failover Cluster (Active / Passive) Monitoring • SLA Real-time Monitoring (Active) • SLA Real-time Monitoring (Passive) Business Constraints • Compliance & Regulation • Protocols Configurability & Extendibility • Personalization • Business Rules / Workflows • Custom Rules, Fields, Forms etc.,
- 9. SaaS – Services Layer Access Security • SSO, MFA, Role, Privilege Accessibility • Cross Platform, Locations Availability • 24/7, SLA,99,9xxxx Confidentiality • Regulatory, Compliance Efficiency • Customer Acquisition, Pricing Integrity • Assets, Data Reliability • Automation, Logging, Monitoring Scalability • Microservices, Serverless Flexibility • OnDemand, Dynamic Verifiability • Audit, Reporting Interoperability • Business Domain, Application, Platform Modularity • Component, Mix, Cut-to-Fit
- 10. SaaS – Multi Tenancy
- 11. SaaS – Multi Tenancy
- 12. SaaS – Hosting High Control Low Low Economy of Scale High
- 13. SaaS – Data Storage Silo Bridge Pool Data Isolation
- 14. SaaS – Data Storage Data Isolation
- 15. SaaS – Data Storage Data Extensibility Option 1 – Pre-allocated Fields Option 2 – Name-Value Pairs for Data Extensibility Option 3 – Custom Schemas Extensibility approach Notes Separate table per tenant Each table can use custom schemas for that particular tenant. Single table with multiple schemas Each tenant can use custom schemas for the entities it stores in the table. Single schema with separate tables holding custom data In table storage, transactions are only supported within a partition on a table. With this approach it is not possible to save all the data associated with an entity in a single transaction Option 4 – XML Columns
- 16. SaaS – Data Storage Approach Security Patterns Extensibility Patterns Scalability Patterns Separate Databases • Trusted Database Connections • Secure Database Tables • Tenant Data Encryption • Custom Columns • Separate table per tenant Single Tenant Scaleout Shared Database, Separate Schemas • Trusted Database Connections • Secure Database Tables • Tenant Data Encryption • Custom Columns • Single table with multiple schemas Tenant‐Based Horizontal Partitioning Shared Database, Shared Schema • Trusted Database Connections • Tenant View Filter • Tenant Data Encryption • Preallocated Fields • Name‐Value Pairs • Single schema with separate tables holding custom data Tenant‐Based Horizontal Partitioning
- 17. SaaS – Data Storage Fault Tolerance & High Availability PrimarySecondary Secondary Data Replication
- 18. The key challenges of SaaS architecture Variable Tenant Load • New Tenant Onboarding • Bulk Operations • Complex Scaling Profiles Variable Data Footprint • Limited storage bottlenecks • Cross-tenant impact • Cost Optimization Seamless Tenant Identity • Binding users to tenants • Efficient resolution of context • Minimally invasive Operational Agility • Small, repeatable deployments • Proactive metrics/monitoring • Tenant level health / policy management
- 19. SaaS – Conceptual Architecture Infrastructure Application Identity Tenant Isolation Data Partitioning Operations Profiling & analytics Management & monitoring Metering, billing & tiering Security Authentication Authorization Encryption & Regulatory Access Onboarding Protocols APIs Resource Abstraction Physical Resources Facilities Compute DB Storage Network & Communication Others BladesDisksServers Custom Engineered Others Real Estate Energy Cooling Partners Others Application Balancing Utilities
- 20. SaaS – Reference Architectures Application Architecture PoolBridgeSilo DB DB DB DBDBDB
- 21. SaaS – Silo Reference Architecture Availability Zone A Availability Zone B ELB Web Tier App Tier Web Tier App Tier Tenant DB Tier DB Tier Same model is replicated for every tenant FULL STACK ISOLATION
- 22. SaaS – Bridge Reference Architecture Availability Zone A Availability Zone B ELB Web Tier App Tier Web Tier App Tier Tenant A DB Tier DB Tier Tenant B WEB UNIVERSAL APP & DB ISOLATION
- 23. SaaS – Pool Reference Architecture Availability Zone A Availability Zone B ELB Web Tier App Tier Web Tier App Tier Tenant A DB Tier DB Tier Every tenant uses the Pool Tenant B WEB & APP POOLED DB ISOLATED
- 24. Key takeaways of SaaS architecture • No single pattern fits all SaaS businesses • All Cloud Service Providers are tenant oriented • SaaS architecture must embrace variable consumption • Find the isolation balance that best suits your domain, it can be challenging • Find the logical services for data encapsulation • Metrics and analytics are foundational to SaaS architecture • Serverless and SaaS are a natural match • Automation and agility are essential to all patterns • Tenant load profile should influence service decomposition
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