2-tier architecture definition

Software architecture model where the interface runs on a client while the data layer is stored on a server. The client is on the first tier, and the server and web application are on the second tier. The client applications interact with the server directly, as opposed to three-tier architecture, where a third application is added as an intermediary.

Advantages

• Easy to develop applications
• Good performance due to the client being physically close to the server.

Disadvantages

• Limited number of users — difficult to scale.
• Client applications depend on the database structure and therefore are difficult to redesign.

Further reading