Technical Reference Architecture Standards

Technical Reference Architecture Standards

The CMS Technical Reference Architecture (TRA) and its associated Supplements, document the standard architecture for all of the CMS Production Environments. The Supplements document specific technical solutions in support of the TRA. Federal employees and contractors should refer to these supplements closely for information on the CMS infrastructure and building systems that will be part of the CMS production environment. 

Note: The TRA and Supplements can be found on CMS' internal website. If you require these documents but do not have access to CMS' internal website, please contact your Government Task Leader (GTL) or send an email to CMS IT Governance and provide your name, company name, phone number, project name, and name of the CMS GTL in your request.

.NET Application Development Guidelines v1.0, Published 10/22/2009
The .NET Application Development Guidelines Supplement describes the CMS .NET Application Architecture and how it integrates into the CMS TRA Windows Multi-Zone Architecture. The supplement also presents guidance for best practices/standards for general development and security.

Access Control and Identity Management v1.0, Published 5/24/2010
The Access Control and Identity Management Supplement provides design and engineering guidance for access controls and identity management of CMS applications and infrastructure in CMS data center environments.

Application Performance Monitoring v1.0, Published 12/21/2010
The Application Performance Monitoring (APM) Supplement establishes the technical concepts, business rules, and standards for APM architecture and services in the CMS Production Environments.

Architecture Change Request Process v1.0, Published 09/29/2009
The Architecture Change Request Process defines the standard process for review, approval, and publication of changes to CMS Technical Reference Architecture documents.

Architecture Change Request Form v1.0
The Architecture Change Request Form is used in conjunction with the Architecture Change Request Process to request changes to the Technical Reference Architecture foundation document and/or Supplements.

Business Intelligence v1.0, Published 3/18/2011
The Business Intelligence Supplement provides the authoritative technical reference architecture (TRA) for all CMS stakeholders who plan, acquire, implement, use, and maintain CMS business intelligence (BI) systems within the CMS Production Environments.

Business Rules v1.0, Published 6/29/2009
The Business Rules Supplement articulates the business rules that should assist all Agency contractors in sustaining the three critical technical objectives in support of CMS’ health care mission: (1) move CMS Production workloads efficiently, (2) provide appropriate and sufficient disaster recovery capability, and (3) facilitate the migration and transition of CMS Business Owner applications into new production environments.

CMS Portal Strategy v1.0, Published 05/12/2011
The CMS Portal Strategy is presented to generate awareness, discussion, and support throughout CMS for implementing a common portal strategy throughout all lines of CMS business. This strategy builds upon the CMS Shared Services Strategy, the CMS Technical Reference Architecture (TRA), and the CMS Business Reference Model (BRM).

CMS Technical Reference Architecture (TRA) v2.1, Published 11/19/2010
The CMS Technical Reference Architecture is intended to: (1) provide technical architecture reference standards for all CMS Production Environments and future application designs to ensure a secure operating environment, (2) communicate CMS' architecture approach and standards, (3) identify CMS' target technical environments to assist agency contractors in developing their transition approaches, and (4) provide technical standards for use in future CMS task orders.

Customer Relationship Management: Siebel v1.0, Published 5/24/2010
The Customer Relationship Management Supplement: Siebel provides a description of CRM best practices, guidance on component placement, component configuration, and a general overview of the Siebel CRM architecture.

Data Archiving Services v1.0, Published 5/24/2010
The Data Archiving Services Supplement establishes the technical concepts, business rules, policies, and standards for data archiving architecture and services in the CMS Production Environments. This supplement shapes and supports critical elements of the CMS enterprise, namely the Data Archiving and the Data Storage Architectures.

Distributed Systems Platform Supplement v1.0, Published 7/7/2010
The Distributed Systems Platform Supplement provides the authoritative technical reference of principles, standards, and engineering guidance for the use and support of mid-tier server environments across the CMS enterprise. The information provided here governs the use and support of development, test, implementation, and production environments for developing, testing, and hosting CMS business applications on Microsoft Windows, UNIX, Linux, and zLinux server platforms.

Domain Name System Services v1.0, Published 3/30/2011
The Domain Name System Services Supplement establishes the standards and guidelines for implementing DNS services in order to provide network name (hostname) to IP resolution services for Intranet users, as well as users and business partners from external sources.

Enterprise Content Management Services v1.0, 4/20/2010
The Enterprise Content Management (ECM) Services Supplement establishes the technical concepts, business rules, policies, and standards for ECM architecture and services in the CMS Production Environments. This supplement is the authoritative technical architecture reference for all CMS stakeholders who plan, acquire, implement, use, and maintain all types of unstructured data, such as images, documents, PDF files, and email.

Enterprise File Transfer v1.0, Published 10/5/2011
The Enterprise File Transfer (EFT) Supplement defines the enterprise-wide standard architecture for transferring files between CMS data centers as well as between CMS data centers and external partners.

Enterprise Service Bus Supplement v1.0, Published 6/5/2012
The Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) Supplement defines the enterprise-wide standard architecture for building, configuring, and deploying Enterprise Services Buses at CMS.

Enterprise Storage Architecture and Storage Services v1.0, Published 5/24/2010
The Enterprise Storage Architecture and Storage Services Supplement presents the primary technical concepts, business rules, policies, and standards to guide and inform all CMS stakeholders who plan, acquire, design, implement, use, and maintain CMS storage systems and components across the enterprise.

Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) v1.0, Published 11/19/2010
The Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) Supplement provides CMS acquisition policies for IPv6 compliance, technical IPv6 transition guidance, and engineering guidance for securing IPv6-compliant systems.

Java EE Application Development Guidelines v1.01, Published 1/8/2010
The Java EE Application Development Guidelines Supplement provides information that is relevant to Java EE software development teams and system administration groups. Development teams should use the guidelines and principles described in this supplement when establishing a foundation for an individual Java EE system design.

Open Source Software v1.0, Published 10/21/2010
The Open Source Software Supplement provides the approved guidelines and standards for adopting, authorizing, using, operating, and maintaining open source software (OSS) in all CMS Production Environments.

Portlet Supplement v1.0, Published 6/6/2012
The Portlet Supplement defines the enterprise-wide standard architecture for building composable and reusable portlets for use in CMS portals, and defines and establishes the standards applicable to the use of portlets at CMS. It also defines the terminology, describes the permitted techniques, and outlines the business rules for using portlets with the CMS portal infrastructure.

Security Services v1.0, Published 11/6/2009
The Security Services Supplement provides the security design and engineering guidance for CMS data center environments. The ARS-CMSR takes precedence over this supplement for resolution of any conflict in interpretation of security guidance for the CMS environment.

Shared Services v1.0, Published 5/24/2010
The Shared Services Supplement provides the authoritative technical reference of principles, standards, and engineering guidance for shared services development across the CMS enterprise. Development teams should use the guidelines and principles described in this supplement when designing and implementing shared technology services.

Technology Products Portfolio v1.0, Published 11/19/2010
The Technology Products Portfolio Supplement provides the authoritative technical reference of CMS-approved Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) products (software only) to guide new offerors and existing CMS contractor proposals and solutions within the CMS procurement process.

Virtualization v1.1, Published 7/28/2010
The Virtualization Supplement establishes the authoritative technical reference for CMS server and network virtualization architectures. This supplement presents the primary technical concepts, business rules, policies, and standards to guide and inform all CMS stakeholders who plan, acquire, design, implement, use, and maintain virtualized CMS servers and network components across the enterprise.

Web-Based User Interface Supplement v1.0, Published 6/5/2012
The Web-Based User Interface (UI) Supplement defines the enterprise-wide standard architecture for building, configuring, and deploying functional, accessible, and secure user interfaces at CMS. The document also describes the systems and technologies CMS uses for UI and presents guidance about planning for and deploying an application that meets the expectations of CMS and its constituents.

Web Services v1.0, Published 10/5/2011
The Web Services Supplement describes Web services architecture and functional components related to integration into CMS' enterprise, including implementing messaging and certificate-based security measures. This supplement also presents Web services design principles and standards along with strategies for Web services adoption and implementation.

Wide Area Network (WAN) Services v1.0, Published 11/24/2009
The Wide Area Network (WAN) Services Supplement describes the CMS Core Network, CMS Private Network (CMSnet), and the CMS Extranet. Together, these WAN elements serve the Enterprise Data Centers (EDC), business partners, employees, and beneficiary communications needs of the Agency. The information provided here is relevant to systems developers and systems maintainers, and helps ensure consistency in connectivity and communications across all CMS production environments.

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