Platform Layers

PLATFORMA follows a strict layered architecture where each layer has clear responsibilities and interfaces. Dependencies flow downward — upper layers depend on lower layers, never the reverse.

Layer 1: Presentation

The presentation layer consists of web applications that provide user interfaces for different personas:

• Customer Portal — Self-service portal for end customers to browse products, place orders, view invoices, and manage resources
• Admin Dashboard — Internal dashboard for platform operators to manage tenants, monitor infrastructure, and handle support
• Partner Portal — White-label portal for resellers and partners

All portals are built as single-page applications that communicate exclusively through the API layer. This ensures:

• Consistent behavior across all interfaces
• Any UI can be replaced without affecting business logic
• Third-party integrations have the same capabilities as first-party UIs

Layer 2: API Gateway

The gateway is the single entry point for all external traffic:

Client → API Gateway → Service Router → Backend Service

Responsibilities:

• Authentication — Validates API keys and OAuth tokens
• Rate limiting — Enforces per-client and per-route limits
• Request routing — Maps URL paths to backend services
• Load balancing — Distributes traffic across service instances
• Response caching — Caches GET responses with configurable TTL
• Analytics — Records request metrics for monitoring

Layer 3: Business Logic

Core services that implement platform functionality:

Order Service

Manages the full order lifecycle from creation through fulfillment. Validates orders against the product catalog, calculates pricing, and coordinates with the provisioning service.

Catalog Service

Maintains the product catalog with pricing rules, availability constraints, and configuration schemas. Supports versioning — product changes don't affect existing subscriptions.

Billing Service

Handles usage metering, invoice generation, and payment processing. Integrates with external payment gateways (Stripe, direct bank transfers) and supports multiple currencies.

Identity Service

Manages authentication (API keys, OAuth, SSO), authorization (RBAC with resource-level policies), and tenant administration.

Layer 4: Infrastructure

Infrastructure adapters that abstract cloud provider APIs:

Each adapter implements a common interface, allowing the provisioning service to orchestrate resources without knowing the underlying provider.