Mapping Deployment with UML Diagrams, Explained

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Mapping Deployment with UML Diagrams

Software Engineering · Chapter 8: Object-Oriented Design and ArchitectureSection 8.3 · lesson 57 of 1035 min · free with a free account

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In this lesson

Where the software actually runs.

  • Explain what a deployment diagram shows
  • Identify nodes, artifacts, and communication paths
  • Explain what it means to nest 1 node inside another
  • Interpret a complete deployment diagram

Transcript

Everything said in the video, section by section (727 words). Read along, or search it.

Object-Oriented Design and Architecture

Mapping Deployment with UML Diagrams

Every diagram so far has shown software as ideas. Classes, objects, and interactions. At some point, all of that has to actually run somewhere. This section covers the diagram that shows where. The U M L deployment diagram.

From Ideas to Hardware

Where Does It All Run?

Class diagrams, sequence diagrams, and use case diagrams all describe software in logical terms. What the pieces are, how they relate, and how they behave. None of them says where any of it physically runs. A deployment diagram fills that gap. It shows the physical or virtual hardware a system runs on, and which piece of software runs on which piece of hardware. That matters once a system is more than one program on one machine. A web app might run partly on a user's device, partly on a web server, and partly on a database server.

Table 1

3 Building Blocks

A deployment diagram is built from three elements. A node is drawn as a three-dimensional box. It is a piece of physical or virtual hardware that can run software, like a server, a device, or a virtual machine. An artifact is a labeled rectangle placed inside a node. It is a deployable unit of software, like an executable, a packaged application, or a data file. And a communication path is a line connecting two nodes, often labeled with a protocol. It is the connection the nodes use to exchange data.

Figures 1 and 2

A Simple Web Application

Here is a deployment diagram for a simple web application. There are three hardware nodes. A client device, a web server machine, and a database server. Each one runs an artifact. The browser, an application package called app dot war, and a database file called orders dot d b. And inside the web server machine, you can see a second node, the application server, with the application deployed inside that.

Reading the Diagram

Artifacts, Nodes, and Protocols

Let's read it from left to right. The browser runs on the client device, and communicates over H T T P S with the application on the web server. The application communicates over J D B C and T C P with the orders database, on the database server. Notice that each communication path shows not just that two nodes are connected, but what protocol carries that connection.

Nested Nodes

Layers on 1 Machine

A single physical machine often runs more than one layer of environment at once. An operating system, then a runtime environment inside it, and the actual software inside that. Deployment diagrams capture this by nesting one node inside another. Here, the application server, a Java virtual machine, is a node nested inside the physical web server machine. The application is deployed inside that. The nesting reflects a real, physical fact. The application server cannot exist without the machine that hosts it.

Think About It

More Detail, or a Different Meaning?

Here is a question to think about. Suppose a diagram showed the web server as one plain node, and then someone expanded it to show the nested application server. Would that change what the diagram means? No. It only changes how much detail it shows. Both versions describe the same physical arrangement. The nested version simply makes explicit a layer of environment the simpler one left implicit.

Apply It

A Mobile App and a Cloud API

Let's apply that. A mobile app runs directly on a user's phone. It communicates with an API hosted in the cloud, over H T T P S. As a deployment diagram, that is two nodes. A phone node, containing the mobile app artifact. And a cloud server node, containing the API artifact. A communication path labeled H T T P S connects the two.

Key Terms

The Vocabulary of This Section

Let's lock in the key terms. A deployment diagram shows the physical or virtual hardware a system runs on, and which software artifacts run on each piece. A node is a piece of hardware able to run software, drawn as a three-dimensional box. An artifact is a deployable unit of software, drawn inside a node. A communication path is a line between two nodes, often labeled with the protocol it uses. And an execution environment is a runtime node, like an application server, that itself runs on another, physical node.

Key Takeaways

What to Carry Forward

To pull this together. A deployment diagram shows where software physically runs, which the logical diagrams never do. Its three elements are nodes, artifacts, and communication paths. A node can be nested inside another, to show a real dependency, like an application server running on a specific machine. And nesting only adds detail. It does not change the physical arrangement being described.

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FAQ

Questions students ask us

About Mapping Deployment with UML Diagrams

What does a UML deployment diagram show?
A UML deployment diagram shows the physical or virtual hardware a system runs on and which software artifacts run on each piece. Class, sequence, and use case diagrams describe software in logical terms but never say where it runs. A deployment diagram fills that gap, which matters once a system spans several machines, such as a web app running partly on a user's device, a web server, and a database server.
What are nodes, artifacts, and communication paths in a deployment diagram?
A node, drawn as a three-dimensional box, is physical or virtual hardware that can run software, such as a server, device, or virtual machine. An artifact, drawn as a labeled rectangle inside a node, is a deployable unit of software, such as an executable, packaged application, or data file. A communication path is a line between two nodes, often labeled with a protocol such as HTTPS, showing how they exchange data.
What does it mean to nest one node inside another in a deployment diagram?
Nesting shows that one execution environment runs inside another on the same machine. For example, an application server such as a Java virtual machine can be drawn as a node inside the physical web server machine, with the application artifact deployed inside it. The nesting reflects a real dependency, since the application server cannot exist without its host. Nesting adds detail without changing the physical arrangement the diagram describes.
How would you draw a deployment diagram for a mobile app that calls a cloud API?
Draw two nodes connected by one communication path. One node is the phone, containing the mobile app artifact. The other is a cloud server node, containing the API artifact. The line between them is labeled HTTPS, the protocol the app uses to reach the API. The same pattern extends to larger systems, such as a browser, a web server running an application package, and a database server holding a database file.

About the Software Engineering course

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Software Engineering (Computer Science 301) carries a NCCRS credit recommendation for 3 semester credits. ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.
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