Intermediate Layer Segmentation for Financial Brokerage Scalability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing financial instrument transaction systems face scalability issues due to high traffic volumes, as adding new web servers is costly and complicates distributed logic, leading to processing bottlenecks and inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
The system abstracts activity request processing business logic onto an intermediate layer that interfaces with front-end web servers, backend databases, and trading market interfaces, allowing for segmentation of tasks onto dedicated servers and using data caching and load balancing to improve scalability and flexibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If new web servers are added to handle increased traffic, then the system can accommodate more customers, but the cost increases and distributed logic becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the system into three distinct layers: front end (web servers), intermediate layer (application servers with business logic), and back end (mainframe with account data). This segmentation allows independent scaling of each layer, so traffic handling capacity can be increased by adding web servers without proportionally increasing distributed logic complexity, as the intermediate layer centralizes the complex business logic.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediate layer as a mediator between the front end web servers and the back end mainframe. This intermediate layer contains the complex business logic for processing trading activities, so web servers can handle traffic without directly implementing complex logic, thereby reducing distributed logic complexity while maintaining productivity.
2Productivity
If web servers are added to accommodate high traffic volume, then customer access is improved, but processing delays occur due to bottlenecks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments processing tasks across multiple layers and dedicated servers. Web servers handle only HTTP requests, intermediate servers handle business logic, and mainframe handles account data. This segmentation eliminates bottlenecks by distributing processing responsibilities, allowing the system to accommodate high traffic volume without significant processing delays.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds a new dimensional layer (intermediate layer) between the front end and back end. This intermediate layer acts as a buffer and processing stage that prevents bottlenecks from propagating, thereby maintaining response time even as traffic volume increases across multiple web servers.
3Device complexity
If the system uses a traditional client-server model with web servers directly accessing mainframe, then the architecture is simple, but the system is not easily scalable
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the traditional two-layer client-server model into three layers: front end, intermediate, and back end. This segmentation enables scalability because each layer can be independently modified or expanded. The intermediate layer acts as a buffer that isolates changes in the front end from the back end, allowing the system to scale without increasing overall architectural complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The intermediate layer serves multiple functions: it processes business logic, manages communication between layers, and provides a buffer for load balancing. This multi-functionality allows the system to scale efficiently without requiring complete architectural redesign, maintaining relative simplicity while dramatically improving adaptability and versatility.
4Productivity
If business logic is distributed across multiple web servers, then the system can handle more requests, but modifications to logic become difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts business logic from the front end web servers and places it in the intermediate layer. Web servers are left with simple request handling functions, while the intermediate layer contains all complex business logic. This extraction allows request processing capacity to be increased by adding web servers without making logic modifications difficult, as all logic resides in a single centralized location.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein in a preferred embodiment is an automated financial instrument brokerage system wherein a front end layer interacts with customers to generate activity requests for an intermediate layer. The intermediate layer preferably processes the activity requests and places financial instrument orders on a financial market if appropriate. A backend layer preferably provides data to the intermediate layer for processing activity requests. Multiple heterogeneous front end customer applications may be supported by the same intermediate layer. Further, multiple backend layer applications may interact with the intermediate layer in a manner transparent to the front end layer. Further, scalability can be achieved be partitioning various tasks of the intermediate layer onto separate servers, and more preferably on-separate redundant servers. Load balancers may then be used in the intermediate layer to provide distributed access to these servers. Also disclosed herein is a caching technique whereby turnaround time for processing activity requests can be reduced by reducing the number of times that the intermediate layer needs to interact with the backend layer.