Reference Architectures for Production Systems

Software systems do not fail because of missing features.
They fail because of missing architecture.

At Orange Sky Software, we design systems where structure comes first:
clear control planes, isolated processing layers, explicit state, and deterministic behavior.

These reference architectures represent patterns we use repeatedly in production environments:

• Separation of orchestration and execution
• Event-driven workflows instead of chained requests
• Immutable data foundations
• Hybrid serverless and container models
• Failure-aware system boundaries

What follows are the core patterns we use repeatedly in production environments.
These are not theoretical diagrams.
They are structural decisions that reduce fragility and operational risk.

These are battle-tested design patterns for systems that must operate at scale, securely,  under constraint, and sans constant human intervention. 

Production security, reliability, cost control, extensibility, and long-term operability are not accidental. Architecture is not optional.

Architecture is the product.

Architecture determines whether a system survives growth or collapses under it.

We design systems to survive.