{{ $data := $.Site.Data.best_practices.three_tier_architecture }}
{{ $cluster_considerations  := $.Site.Data.cluster_considerations }}

In production, use a three-tier architecture, if feasible.

![Image of the 3-tier architecture: Source cluster(s), Compute/Transform
cluster(s), Serving cluster(s)](/images/3-tier-architecture.svg "3-tier
architecture")

A three-tier architecture consists of:

{{ partial "yaml-tables/generic-table.html" (dict "rows" $data.rows "columns"
$data.columns) }}

Benefits of a three-tier architecture include:

- Support for [blue/green
  deployments](/manage/dbt/blue-green-deployments/)

- Independent scaling of each tier.