ARC places one multi-model control plane between users, applications and agents and the approved models, tools and data they may reach. These five patterns show where policy runs and what crosses each boundary.
Every pattern keeps ARC between the caller and the resources its active list permits. Arrows show permitted paths. Dashed outlines mark trust boundaries. Every tool call returns to ARC.
Each pattern starts with a different production constraint. One organisation may run several at once, with a separate policy and boundary for each workload.
| Architecture | The pressure | Where the boundary sits | What changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Architecture 01Multi-team AI access layer | Several teams need different AI access. | At the list assigned to that team or use case. | Application teams stop owning provider-specific routing. |
| Architecture 02Agent access with bounded models and tools | Agents act in business systems under bounded model, tool, approved data and spend access. | Between the agent runtime and the models, tools and data its active list permits. | Resource access and spend are enforced outside the agent prompt. Reasoning and runtime remain outside ARC. |
| Architecture 03Hybrid AI for sensitive work | Sensitive work still needs strong capability without exposing the underlying material. | Around the sensitive material, with only the shielded context crossing it. | The external model receives only the context its step requires. |
| Architecture 04Resilient multi-provider production | Provider failure cannot break the product. | At route policy, which orders the approved provider and private paths. | Routing and fallback leave application code. |
| Architecture 05Private and air-gapped AISelf-hosted Licence only | Everything must run inside your network. | At the network edge, with no external destination in the route. | Request data never crosses the network boundary. |
Open the pattern closest to your environment. Each keeps the same ARC interface; the trust boundary and approved execution surface change.
Arrows show the paths policy permits. Resource groups show approved choices. Tool calls return to ARC. Dashed outlines show trust boundaries.
Several products, assistants and agents call ARC. ARC applies the active list and policy, then reaches only the provider models, private endpoints and tools that list permits.
An agent submits work to ARC with an active list. ARC applies access and spend policy, then orchestrates only the models and tools approved for that list. Every tool result returns to ARC.
Inside the trust boundary, the application reaches ARC and its privacy policy. ARC calls trusted handling tools and a trusted model. Outside the boundary, one external model receives only the shielded context needed for its part.
A production application calls ARC. ARC applies route policy and request-time limits, then selects from an ordered set of approved provider or private model paths.
One customer network boundary contains the application, self-hosted ARC, policy, locally hosted models, approved tools and connected storage. There is no external path.
What crosses which boundary is decided in the design and written down before anything is deployed. We do not assume it.
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