37.2 Application Chains

An application chain is two or more applications linked together by dependencies. In its simplest form, an application chain consists of two levels, as shown in the following illustration.

Figure 37-3 A Two-Level Application Chain

However, when application dependencies are nested, an application chain can grow to include many levels. In the following example, Application A has a dependency on Application B. Application B, in turn, has dependencies on Application B1 and Application B2. As a result, all three applications (B, B1, B2), in addition to applications C and D, must be present in order for Application A to run.

Figure 37-4 A Three-Level Application Chain

In some cases, an application might belong to more than one application chain, as in the following example where Application D is a dependent application for both Application A and Application E.

Figure 37-5 An Application that Belongs to Two Different Application Chains