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Question

What is the role of a software architect in translating requirements into technical design?

Answer

The architect turns business needs into a high-level technical structure — and bakes in non-functional requirements like security from the start.

Bridges business needs to technical implementation by creating the high-level system structure.

Key responsibilities:

Define component decomposition and communication patterns
Design interfaces (internal APIs and external integrations)
Make technology decisions (frameworks, databases, protocols)
Establish coding guidelines and principles for the team
Ensure non-functional requirements (security, scalability, maintainability) are addressed in design

The architect ensures security is part of the architecture — not an afterthought bolted on later.

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Question

Explain the OSI model and why understanding it matters for security.

Answer

7 layers from Physical to Application; it matters because attacks and defenses live at different layers — a L3-4 firewall can't stop a L7 SQL injection.

OSI 7-layer model with a representative security concern at each layer, from physical access at L1 to WAF/input validation at L7.

* The seven OSI layers, each with a representative security concern — attacks and defences live at different layers. *

7 layers of network communication, each with distinct security implications:

Layer	Name	Function	Security Example
7	Application	HTTP, FTP	WAF, input validation
6	Presentation	Encryption, serialization	TLS
5	Session	Connection management	Session hijacking
4	Transport	TCP/UDP, ports	Firewall rules
3	Network	IP routing	IP filtering, VPN
2	Data Link	MAC addresses, Ethernet	ARP spoofing
1	Physical	Cables, signals	Physical access control

Why it matters: Attacks and defenses operate at different layers. A network firewall (L3-4) can't stop SQL injection because the malicious payload is valid HTTP at the transport level — you need a WAF (L7) for that.

Tip: "All People Seem To Need Data Processing" (layers 7→1) or "Please Do Not Throw Sausage Pizza Away" (1→7).

Go deeper:

Wikipedia — OSI model — the full seven-layer reference model, layer by layer with its protocols.

Communication in the OSI model (example with layers 3 to 5)

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