Reference architecture diagram
Appropriate roles: Co-sell solution admin
The reference architecture diagram is a model that represents the current state of infrastructure your solution relies on. For Azure IP solutions, the diagram should also show how your solution uses Microsoft’s cloud services per the technical requirements of IP Co-sell. It is not designed to assess the quality of the architecture. It is designed to show how your solution uses Microsoft services.
The current state reference architecture diagram can be created via multiple tools. We recommend Microsoft Visio, as it has multiple stencils that depict Azure architecture models.
A helpful starting point for building reference architecture diagrams is to use the Azure Architecture models.
Typical components of a reference architecture diagram
The diagram must clearly identify your IP as solution, application, or service code both deployed on and driving consumption of Microsoft Azure. This code must be highly reusable and not depend on extensive customization per deployment.
- Cloud services that host and interact with your solution, including ones that consume Azure resources
- Data connections, data layers, and data services being consumed by your solution
- Cloud services used to control security, authentication, and users of the solution
- User interfaces and other services that expose the solution to users
- Hybrid or on-premises connectivity and integrations or a combination of both
This screenshot shows an example of a reference architecture diagram.
This example reference architecture diagram is for a vertical industry chatbot that can be integrated with intranet sites to help with forecast demand scenarios via a machine learning algorithm. This solution uses supply chain and manufacturing schedule data from different ERP systems. The bot is designed to address questions about when a salesperson can commit on possible delivery dates for an order.