Tiers and components

You install IBM® InfoSphere® Information Server product modules in logical tiers. A tier is a logical group of components within InfoSphere Information Server and the computers on which those components are installed.

Each tier includes a subgroup of the components that make up the InfoSphere Information Server suite and product modules. The tiers provide services, job execution, and storage of metadata and other data for your product modules.

InfoSphere Information Server has these tiers:

Client tier: The client programs and consoles that are used for development and administration and the computers where they are installed.
Engine tier: The logical group of components (the InfoSphere Information Server engine components, communication agents, and so on) and the computer where those components are installed. The InfoSphere Information Server engine runs jobs and other tasks for product modules.
Services tier: The application server, common services, and product services for the suite and product modules and the computer where those components are installed. The services tier provides common services (such as security and logging) and services that are specific to certain product modules. On the services tier, IBM WebSphere® Application Server hosts the services. The services tier also hosts InfoSphere Information Server applications that are Web-based.
Metadata repository tier: The metadata repository and, if installed, other repositories to support various product modules in the suite. The metadata repository contains the shared metadata, data, and configuration information for InfoSphere Information Server product modules. The other repositories store extended data for use by the product modules they support.