N-tier Architecture

Multitier Architecture

An N-tier architecture divides an application into logical layers and physical tiers.

• A higher layer can use services in a lower layer.

An N-tier application can have:

• a closed layer architecture, a layer can only call the next layer immediately down.

• an open layer architecture, a layer can call any of the layers below it.

A three-tier architecture includes:

• Data Access Layer — responsible for data processing

• Business Logic Layer — responsible for app logic

• Presentation Layer — responsible for the display (UI, Web API).

The main problem with this architecture is that all layers are built on top of the Data Access Layer and are, in fact, tied to a certain type of data storage. If this type changes, it causes changes at all levels. The Entity Framework partially solves this problem, but it supports a limited number of database types.

To overcome this issue we use Onion Architecture.