A Technology Component is used in TOGAF to group software applications and physical technologies to provide services to the enterprise. You can visually show the Technology Component and its relationships to other aspects of the architecture on an Explorer diagram.
Logical and physical technology components
You can specify whether a Technology Component is a logical piece of technology (for example, a software server) or a physical piece of technology (for example, a server that is a physical machine) by toggling on the Is Physical property in the Technology Component definition. This is an important aspect of the Technology Component, as its representation on several Explorer diagrams is filtered based on this property -- in other words, the Heat Map Manager relative to each specific Explorer diagram will allow you to run reports for Physical Technology components or Logical Technology Components.
Usage on TOGAF diagrams
The following TOGAF-type Explorer Diagrams are typically used to represent Technology Components and their interrelationships with other parts of the architecture:
You can use the following matrices to relate Technology Components to other artifacts of the architecture:
▪Business Service to Logical Technology Component matrix
▪Business Service to Technology matrix
▪Location to Physical Technology Component matrix
▪Physical Application Component to Physical Technology Component matrix
Properties of a technology component
A Technology Component contains the following properties:
Standards Class
Specify the kind of standard that this Technology Component adheres to
Implements
Specify the Business Service that the Technology Component implements.
Is Physical
Selected this if the Technology Component represents a physical piece of hardware.
Clear this if it represents a software component.
Some Explorer Relationship Reports show Logical or Physical Technology Components, based on this property.
Relates from Migrations
You can migrate from one version of a Technology Component to another, or from one Technology Component to a new one (new brand, configuration, etc). If the Technology Component has been created as the result of a migration, you can specify the name to the Migration in this property.
Relates to Migrations
You can migrate from one version of a Technology Component to another, or from one Technology Component to a new one (new brand, configuration, etc). If the Technology Component is being migrated to another Technology Component, you can specify the name to the Migration in this property.
Hosted at Location
Specify at what location the Technology Component is hosted at.
Supports Application Components
Specify the Applications that the Technology Component supports.
Realizes
A Technology Component can realize another Technology Component.
Is a
If a physical device, you can specify its name. The list contains devices that can be drawn on the Network Concept diagram, such as Hardware Processors, Multiplexors, Computers, and so on.