Terminology

454 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 areas454 Architecture Fundamentals16 Distributed Systems73 Data Architecture71 Cloud Architecture55 Networking13 API & Integration Architecture17 Reliability & Resilience16 Observability14 Performance & Capacity Engineering13 Security Architecture50 Cost Architecture & FinOps12 Business Architecture9 Architecture Communication8 Enterprise Architecture8 Legacy Modernization11 AI-Era Architecture15 Software Architecture & Engineering19 Architecture Patterns15 Architecture Decision-Making11 The Architect's Meta-Skills8

Kind Any concept166 practice107 pattern93 case-study26 tool26 protocol22 metric14

3 terms shown.

Term	Kind	Topic	What it is
Fencing Token	pattern	Leader Election	A monotonically increasing number issued with leadership or a lock, checked by the resource, so writes from a deposed holder are rejected.
Lease	concept	Leader Election	Time-bounded leadership or ownership that must be renewed before it expires, so a leader that becomes unreachable automatically relinquishes its role.
Split Vote	concept	Leader Election	An election in which no candidate obtains a majority, so the term ends with no leader and the process must repeat.