Catalog
concept#Architecture#Platform#Reliability#Security

Computer Hardware

The physical components of a computer system that determine performance, power consumption, and form factor.

Computer hardware comprises the physical components of computing systems—processors, memory, storage, and peripherals.
Established
Medium

Classification

  • Medium
  • Technical
  • Architectural
  • Intermediate

Technical context

Firmware and driversOperating systems and hypervisorsPeripherals and network infrastructure

Principles & goals

Make architecture choices based on performance and energy requirementsStandardize to simplify operations and supportConsider cooling and thermal characteristics already in the design
Build
Domain, Team

Use cases & scenarios

Compromises

  • Obsolete components lead to security and maintenance issues
  • Lack of component compatibility increases integration effort
  • Underestimated thermal load can cause failures
  • Conduct early thermal and performance analyses
  • Choose components based on lifecycle criteria
  • Maintain standard reference designs for reusability

I/O & resources

  • Performance and capacity requirements
  • Budget and timeline
  • Environmental and operational conditions
  • Technical specifications and bill of materials
  • Validated prototypes and test protocols
  • Rollout and maintenance plan

Description

Computer hardware comprises the physical components of computing systems—processors, memory, storage, and peripherals. It defines constraints and capabilities that shape system architecture, performance, and energy use. Understanding hardware trade-offs is essential for design, deployment, and operational decisions across engineering and product teams.

✔

  • Clear boundaries for performance and capacity planning
  • Optimized costs through targeted procurement
  • Better predictability of operations and maintenance

✖

  • Physical constraints such as size, weight and heat dissipation
  • Hardware changes are slower than software iterations
  • Dependency on supply chains and component availability

  • Throughput (transactions/s or FLOPS)

    Measures processed load per time unit and evaluates performance capacity.

  • Latency (ms)

    Time to process individual requests, critical for real-time systems.

  • Power consumption (Watts / Joules per operation)

    Evaluates efficiency and operational costs over the lifecycle.

RISC-V development board in an edge cluster

Use of small, energy-efficient boards to accelerate edge-near analytics.

High-density GPU servers for AI training

Specialized hardware configurations to optimize training throughput and cooling.

Standardized workstation configuration

Uniform hardware profiles reduce support effort and simplify rollouts.

1

Capture and prioritize requirements

2

Document architecture and component decisions

3

Build and validate prototypes

4

Introduce production, rollout and monitoring

⚠️ Technical debt & bottlenecks

  • Outdated board layouts hinder later upgrades
  • Proprietary interfaces without adapter strategy
  • Insufficient monitoring integration for hardware health
Thermal managementComponent availabilityHW/SW compatibility
  • Using consumer components in critical servers
  • Ignoring firmware updates due to compatibility fears
  • Skipping redundancy in fault-tolerant systems
  • Underestimating long-term operational costs
  • No test environment for thermal edge cases
  • Not accounting for supply chain risks
Hardware design and schematic developmentSystem integration and test automationElectrical measurement and thermal management
Performance and throughputEnergy efficiency and thermal managementCompatibility and interface standards
  • • Physical dimensions and form factor
  • • Power supply and energy budget
  • • Regulatory and safety standards