Terminology

2225 terms, tools, patterns and metrics an architect is expected to use precisely. Each one gets a short explanation of what it is, and — where it matters — what it is commonly confused with. Search filters as you type; the column headers sort.

All areas2225 Architecture Fundamentals77 Distributed Systems107 Data Architecture110 Cloud Architecture94 Networking88 API & Integration Architecture82 Reliability & Resilience75 Observability70 Performance & Capacity Engineering72 Security Architecture86 Cost Architecture & FinOps71 Business Architecture67 Architecture Communication67 Enterprise Architecture66 Legacy Modernization71 AI-Era Architecture74 Software Architecture & Engineering71 Architecture Patterns71 Architecture Decision-Making63 The Architect's Meta-Skills61 Delivery & Release Engineering66 Platform Engineering & Developer Experience70 Testing & Quality Architecture66 Data Platform Architecture69 Streaming & Real-Time Data69 Data Governance & Semantics74 Frontend & Experience Architecture66 Edge, Mobile & IoT68 Regulatory & Data Protection Architecture65 Assurance, Audit & Model Risk69

Kind Any concept801 practice736 pattern377 metric127 case-study77 tool62 protocol45

3 terms shown.

Term	Kind	Topic	What it is
Configuration Drift	concept	IaC Modules & Drift	The gap that opens between the infrastructure your code describes and the infrastructure that actually exists.
Configuration Drift Detection	practice	IaC Modules & Drift	Continuously comparing declared infrastructure against what actually exists, so out-of-band change is found on a Tuesday rather than during a rebuild.
Infrastructure State Partition State Splitting, Per-Domain State	practice	IaC Modules & Drift	Splitting one infrastructure state file into several along ownership and lifecycle boundaries, so plans are fast and a mistaken apply cannot reach unrelated resources.