System Architecture with Claude Code

System Architecture with Claude Code

Claude Code serves as an excellent architectural consultant, helping you design scalable systems, make technology decisions, and create comprehensive technical documentation. This lesson explores how to leverage Claude Code for architecture work.

Architectural Analysis

Project Assessment

1. Analyze existing architecture

   claude "Analyze the current architecture of this project:
   - Identify architectural patterns
   - Map service dependencies
   - Find potential bottlenecks
   - Suggest improvements
   Create a detailed report with diagrams"

2. Technology stack evaluation

   claude "Evaluate our technology stack:
   - Assess each technology's fit
   - Identify outdated dependencies
   - Find security vulnerabilities
   - Recommend upgrades or replacements
   Include migration paths"

3. Performance profiling

   claude "Profile this application's architecture for performance:
   - Identify slow database queries
   - Find N+1 query problems
   - Analyze API response times
   - Check caching effectiveness
   Generate optimization recommendations"

Design Patterns Implementation

Microservices Architecture

Service Decomposition

claude "Help me decompose this monolith into microservices:
- Identify bounded contexts
- Suggest service boundaries
- Define API contracts
- Plan data separation strategy
- Create migration roadmap"

Event-Driven Architecture

Message Queue

claude "Design event-driven architecture using RabbitMQ:
- Define event schemas
- Create publisher/subscriber pattern
- Implement dead letter queues
- Add retry mechanisms
- Generate monitoring setup"

Event Streaming

claude "Implement event streaming with Kafka:
- Design topic structure
- Create producer/consumer code
- Implement exactly-once semantics
- Add schema registry
- Generate performance tuning guide"

Serverless Events

claude "Create serverless event architecture:
- Use AWS EventBridge/Azure Event Grid
- Design event routing rules
- Implement fan-out patterns
- Add error handling
- Calculate cost estimates"

API Design

1. RESTful API design

   claude "Design RESTful API for this domain:
   - Follow REST principles
   - Create resource models
   - Define endpoints and methods
   - Add pagination and filtering
   - Generate OpenAPI specification"

2. GraphQL schema

   claude "Create GraphQL schema for this application:
   - Define types and relationships
   - Create queries and mutations
   - Add subscriptions for real-time
   - Implement DataLoader pattern
   - Generate resolver templates"

3. gRPC services

   claude "Design gRPC service architecture:
   - Create protocol buffer definitions
   - Define service methods
   - Add streaming support
   - Implement interceptors
   - Generate client libraries"

Database Architecture

Schema Design

Relational Design

claude "Design relational database schema:
- Normalize to 3NF
- Add appropriate indexes
- Create foreign key constraints
- Plan partitioning strategy
- Generate migration scripts"

NoSQL Modeling

claude "Design NoSQL data model:
- Choose between document/key-value/graph
- Optimize for query patterns
- Plan sharding strategy
- Handle consistency requirements
- Create sample queries"

Data Layer Patterns

# Repository pattern implementation
claude "Implement repository pattern for data access:
- Create abstract repository interface
- Implement for multiple databases
- Add caching layer
- Include transaction support
- Generate unit tests"

Security Architecture

Authentication & Authorization

OAuth 2.0

claude "Implement OAuth 2.0 architecture:
- Design authorization server
- Create resource server
- Implement grant types
- Add refresh token rotation
- Generate security documentation"

JWT

claude "Design JWT-based auth system:
- Create token structure
- Implement signing/verification
- Add refresh token mechanism
- Handle token revocation
- Generate middleware code"

mTLS

claude "Implement mutual TLS authentication:
- Design certificate hierarchy
- Create certificate management
- Implement client verification
- Add certificate rotation
- Generate deployment guide"

Security Patterns

1. Zero Trust Architecture

   claude "Design zero trust security model:
   - Implement micro-segmentation
   - Add identity verification at each layer
   - Create policy enforcement points
   - Design audit logging
   - Generate compliance checklist"

2. Defense in Depth

   claude "Implement defense in depth strategy:
   - Add multiple security layers
   - Create WAF rules
   - Implement rate limiting
   - Add intrusion detection
   - Design incident response plan"

Scalability Patterns

Horizontal Scaling

claude "Design horizontal scaling architecture:
- Implement stateless services
- Add load balancing strategy
- Design session management
- Create auto-scaling policies
- Generate deployment manifests"

Caching Strategy

Multi-Level Cache

claude "Design multi-level caching:
- Browser cache headers
- CDN configuration
- Application-level cache
- Database query cache
- Generate cache invalidation logic"

Distributed Cache

claude "Implement distributed caching:
- Choose Redis/Memcached
- Design cache keys
- Implement cache-aside pattern
- Add cache warming
- Monitor hit rates"

Documentation Generation

Architecture Decision Records (ADRs)

claude "Create ADR for [specific decision]:
- Context and problem statement
- Decision drivers
- Considered options with pros/cons
- Decision outcome
- Consequences and trade-offs
Follow ADR template format"

System Documentation

1. C4 Model diagrams

   claude "Create C4 model diagrams for this system:
   - Context diagram
   - Container diagram
   - Component diagram
   - Code diagram (for critical parts)
   Use PlantUML or Mermaid syntax"

2. Sequence diagrams

   claude "Generate sequence diagrams for key flows:
   - User authentication flow
   - Order processing workflow
   - Payment transaction flow
   - Error handling scenarios
   Use Mermaid syntax"

3. Architecture overview

   claude "Write comprehensive architecture document:
   - Executive summary
   - System overview
   - Component descriptions
   - Data flow diagrams
   - Deployment architecture
   - Security considerations"

Cloud Architecture

Multi-Cloud Strategy

AWS

claude "Design AWS architecture for this application:
- VPC and networking setup
- Compute (EC2/ECS/Lambda)
- Storage (S3/EFS/RDS)
- Message queuing (SQS/SNS)
- Generate CloudFormation/CDK"

Azure

claude "Create Azure architecture:
- Resource group structure
- Compute (VMs/AKS/Functions)
- Storage accounts and databases
- Service Bus messaging
- Generate ARM templates/Bicep"

GCP

claude "Design GCP architecture:
- Project and folder structure
- Compute Engine/GKE/Cloud Run
- Cloud Storage and databases
- Pub/Sub messaging
- Generate Terraform configs"

Cost Optimization

claude "Analyze and optimize cloud costs:
- Review current resource usage
- Identify overprovisioned resources
- Suggest reserved instances
- Implement auto-shutdown policies
- Create cost monitoring alerts"

Monitoring & Observability

Observability Stack

Complete Observability

claude "Design observability architecture:
- Metrics collection (Prometheus)
- Log aggregation (ELK/Loki)
- Distributed tracing (Jaeger)
- APM integration
- Create dashboards and alerts"

Best Practices

Architecture Principles

• SOLID principles - Apply to service design
• DRY - Don’t repeat yourself
• KISS - Keep it simple
• YAGNI - You aren’t gonna need it
• Loose coupling - High cohesion

Common Anti-Patterns to Avoid

Danger

• Distributed monolith
• Chatty interfaces
• Shared databases between services
• Synchronous communication everywhere
• Missing circuit breakers
• No rate limiting

Practical Exercises

1. Design a new feature

   • Gather requirements
   • Create architectural proposal
   • Design data model
   • Plan API contracts
   • Document decisions

2. Refactor existing system

   • Analyze current architecture
   • Identify pain points
   • Propose improvements
   • Create migration plan
   • Estimate effort

3. Performance optimization

   • Profile current system
   • Identify bottlenecks
   • Design solutions
   • Implement caching
   • Measure improvements

Architecture Review Checklist

Technical Review

• ✅ Scalability considerations
• ✅ Security measures
• ✅ Performance requirements
• ✅ Data consistency strategy
• ✅ Error handling approach
• ✅ Monitoring and alerting

Business Review

• ✅ Cost estimates
• ✅ Time to market
• ✅ Maintenance burden
• ✅ Team expertise alignment
• ✅ Compliance requirements

Next Steps

Continue your architectural journey with:

• Containerization for deployment architecture
• Enterprise Integration for large-scale systems
• Cost Control for optimization strategies

Remember: Good architecture is not about using the latest technologies, but about making informed decisions that balance technical excellence with business needs. Claude Code helps you explore options and understand trade-offs.