Summary Prerequisites and limitations Architecture Tools Epics Related resources

Analyze and visualize software architecture in CAST Imaging

Created by Arpita Sinha (Cast Software) and James Hurrell (Cast Software)

Environment: Production

Technologies: Modernization

Workload: All other workloads

Summary

This pattern shows how you can use CAST Imaging to navigate a complex software system visually and perform a precise analysis of the software structure. By using CAST Imaging in this way, you can make more informed decisions about your application’s architecture, especially for modernization purposes.

To view your application’s architecture in CAST Imaging, you must first onboard your application’s source code through the CAST Console. The console then publishes your application’s data to CAST Imaging, where you can visualize and navigate your application architecture layer by layer.

Prerequisites and limitations

Prerequisites

An active AWS account
The Amazon Machine Image (AMI) for CAST Imaging
An Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) instance that includes the following (a memory optimized r5.xlarge Amazon EC2 instance is recommended):
- 4 vCPU
- 32 GB RAM
- 500 GB minimum General Purpose solid state drive (SSD) (gp3) volume
CAST Console and CAST Imaging license keys (to get the required license keys, contact CAST at aws.contact-me@castsoftware.com)
The complete source code of the application that you want to analyze in compressed (.zip) format
Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome

Architecture

The following diagram shows an example workflow for onboarding an application’s source code through the CAST Console and then viewing it in CAST Imaging:

The diagram shows the following workflow:

CAST generates application source code metadata by reverse-engineering front-end, middleware, and back-end code.
The application data that is generated by CAST is automatically imported into CAST Imaging, where it can be visualized and analyzed.

Here’s a snapshot of how this process works:

Tools

CAST Imaging is a browser-based application that helps you view and navigate your software system visually, so you can make informed decisions about its architecture.
CAST Console is a browser-based application that helps you configure, run, and manage CAST AIP analyses.

Note: CAST Imaging and CAST Console are included in the AMI for CAST Imaging.

Epics

Task	Description	Skills required
Run the initial CAST Console configuration.	Open your web browser and connect to the CAST Console by entering the following URL: http://localhost:8081 When prompted, enter your CAST Console license key. Then, choose Next. Review the configuration settings. If no changes are needed, choose Save and Finish.	Software architects, Developers, Technical leaders
Run the initial CAST Imaging configuration.	Open your web browser and connect to CAST Imaging by entering the following URL: http://localhost:8083 When prompted, log in by entering admin for both the username and password. When prompted, enter your CAST Imaging license key. Then, choose Update to save the key.	Software architects, Developers, Technical leaders

Task	Description	Skills required
Prepare your application’s source code.	Save your application’s source code in a single, compressed .zip file.	Software architects, Developers, Technical leaders
Add your application to the CAST Console.	Open your web browser and connect to the CAST Console by entering the following URL: http://localhost:8081 When prompted, log in by entering admin for both the username and password. Choose Add application. Then, enter the application name and choose Add.	Software architects, Developers, Technical leaders
Open the source code delivery wizard.	Find the application that you created in the CAST Console. Then, choose Add version.	Software architects, Developers, Technical leaders
Upload your application’s source code.	Do one of the following: Drag and drop the .zip file that contains your application’s source code into the source code delivery wizard. -or- Choose the upload cloud icon. Then, open the .zip file that contains your application’s source code.	Software architects, Developers, Technical leaders
Start the analysis process.	In the delivery wizard, provide the version details and specify the configuration options. For more information, see Standard onboarding for CAST Imaging in the CAST Imaging documentation. Make sure that the Publish to CAST Imaging option is selected. Then, choose Proceed. Note: Choosing Proceed starts the analysis process for the source code. The progress window in the CAST Console shows each step of the analysis process, and displays a notification when the analysis is complete.	Software architects, Developers, Technical leaders

Task	Description	Skills required
Check status and logs.	When all of the analysis actions are completed, verify that there’s a success message in the progress window. Note: You can check the individual logs each analysis action immediately after it’s completed. To review the logs of a specific action, choose View log in the Progress window.	Software architects, Developers, Technical leaders
Check the application details.	In the Application details panel, review the details about the analysis results. Make sure to look at the technologies that were discovered and the source code organization.	Software architects, Developers, Technical leaders
Verify and access CAST Imaging.	In the Application Managementpane in the CAST Console, verify that the version status of your application is Imaging processed. A CAST Imaging icon appears. Choose the CAST Imaging icon to navigate directly to your application data in CAST Imaging. Note: The Imaging processed status means that the source code has been analyzed and uploaded to your CAST Imaging instance.	Software architects, Developers, Technical leaders

Task

Description

Skills required

Check status and logs.

When all of the analysis actions are completed, verify that there’s a success message in the progress window.

Note: You can check the individual logs each analysis action immediately after it’s completed. To review the logs of a specific action, choose View log in the Progress window.