Terminology

2205 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 areas2205 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 Architecture69 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 Architecture64 Streaming & Real-Time Data69 Data Governance & Semantics69 Frontend & Experience Architecture66 Edge, Mobile & IoT68 Regulatory & Data Protection Architecture65 Assurance, Audit & Model Risk64

Kind Any concept794 practice734 pattern368 metric125 case-study77 tool62 protocol45

5 terms shown.

Term	Kind	Topic	What it is
Capacity Reservation On-Demand Capacity Reservation, Zonal Capacity Hold	pattern	Reserved & Committed Capacity	Paying to hold specific hardware in a specific zone whether or not it is running, which is the only purchase that guarantees a launch succeeds and is separate from every discount instrument.
Commitment Coverage	metric	Reserved & Committed Capacity	The proportion of steady-state usage covered by discounted commitments, balanced against the risk of committing to capacity that is no longer needed.
Commitment Floor Minimum Spend Obligation, Contracted Spend Floor	concept	Reserved & Committed Capacity	The minimum spend a contract obliges you to pay regardless of usage, which makes efficiency gains unrealisable until the term ends and therefore sets the pace of cost programmes and migrations.
Reserved and Committed Capacity Savings Plan, Committed Use Discount	practice	Reserved & Committed Capacity	Trading a commitment to spend for a substantial discount, where the risk is committing to an architecture you are about to change.
Trough-Based Commitment Baseline Reservation, Commit to the Floor	practice	Reserved & Committed Capacity	Sizing reserved capacity to the quietest period rather than the average, because only the trough is capacity you are certain to use for the whole commitment term.