## [The Structure of a Successful Internal Developer Platform](https://platformengineering.org/blog/create-your-own-platform-engineering-reference-architectures)
In a platform reference architecture there are five main planes that make up an IDP:
1. Developer Control Plane – this is the primary configuration layer and interaction point for the platform users. Components include Workload specifications such as Score and a portal for developers to interact with.
2. Integration and Delivery Plane – this plane is about building and storing the image, creating app and infra configs, and deploying the final state. It usually contains a CI pipeline, an image registry, a Platform Orchestrator, and the CD system.
3. Resource Plane – this is where the actual infrastructure exists including clusters, databases, storage or DNS services.
4, Monitoring and Logging Plane – provides real-time metrics and logs for apps and infrastructure.
5. Security Plane – manages secrets and identity to protect sensitive information, e.g., storing, managing, and security retrieving API keys and credentials/secrets.
