A UML deployment diagram depicts a static view of the run-time configuration of hardware nodes and the software components that run on those nodes. UML deployment diagrams show the hardware for your system, the software that is installed on that hardware, and the middleware used to connect the disparate machines to one another. You create a UML deployment model to

1. ■ explore the issues involved in installing your system into production;

2. ■ explore the dependencies that your system has with other systems that are currently in, or planned for, your production environment;

3. ■ depict a major deployment configuration of a business application;

4. ■ design the hardware and software configuration of an embedded system;

5. ■ depict the physical topology of the hardware/network infrastructure of an organization.

General Guidelines

Indicate Software Components on Project-Specific Diagrams

Figure 49 depicts a UML deployment diagram for a university administration system. This diagram depicts how the major software components that compose a single application are to be deployed into the production environment, enabling the project team to identify its deployment strategy.

Assume That Nodes Are Devices

Figure 49 only indicates that ApplicationServer is a device (a hardware node); the other servers did not include the stereotype. It is common practice to assume that nodes are devices. Did you think otherwise with respect to Figure 49?

Use Concise Notation

Figure 49 is a concise version of Figure 49, which in my opinion is far more useful. Remember Agile Modeling's (Chapter 17) Depict Models Simply practice.