K2 Cloud Architecture

The K2 Cloud platform is built on Microsoft technologies such as Windows Server, SQL Azure, Azure Active Directory and the .NET Framework. It is hosted on Microsoft Azure. The platform architecture includes modular server components, multiple APIs, and interfaces for designers (those who build forms, reports, and workflows), users (those who use K2 to action tasks, view reports, and fill out forms), and administrators (those who install and maintain the platform).

Client Layer

You can divide users into three groups: Administrators, Designers and end-users. All users can work with K2 directly through the exposed web interfaces.

Administrators	Administrators use the K2 Management interface to provision, manage and monitor the K2 system. For information on the K2 Management site see the Administer topic in the K2 Cloud User Guide.
K2 Designers	K2 Designers create SmartObjects, Workflows, Forms and Views in the K2 Designer. For more information on creating these entities, see the Create topic in the K2 Cloud User Guide.
Users	Once designed and deployed, solutions are available to end-users through the browser tools like K2 Workspace and the K2 Mobile apps. For more information on using K2 solutions, see the Use topic in the K2 Cloud User Guide.

K2 also integrates with SharePoint Lists and Libraries. For information on building and using solutions with K2 for SharePoint, see the K2 for SharePoint topic in the K2 Cloud User Guide.

K2 Server Compute Layer

The K2 server runs as a Windows service and hosts other K2 core servers and services. The K2 core servers are the Workflow server, SmartObject server, SmartForms server and authorization framework. Some of the ancillary services include the Discovery service, the Category service and the User Role Manager service. K2 Cloud (K2 Server and APIs) run in the cloud on Microsoft Azure infrastructure and Azure SQL server.

K2 API

Developers can use the K2 APIs described in this guide to interact with the K2 platform at design time or runtime.