LLMOps: The Four Layers an Agent Stack Must Cover

Originally published at LLMOps: The Four Layers an Agent Stack Must Cover on smartgate.network.

A shorter version of "LLMOps: The Four Layers an Agent Stack Must Cover" — the full piece lives at smartgate.network.

What the full piece covers

• llmops: the four layers, and what each one actually decides — The word covers a lot of ground, so it is worth separating what each layer answers.
• agent orchestration: who decides which step runs next — Orchestration is the part of the stack that decides the next action, and there are only three honest designs.
• multi agent orchestration: supervisor, handoff, or a queue — Multi-agent orchestration is where budgets go to die, so it is worth being blunt about when a second agent earns its cost.
• multi agent systems: when more than one agent earns its cost — Multi agent systems sit at the top of this taxonomy, and the deciding question is not "how many agents" but "how many independent failure domains".
• ai agent framework: the four questions that decide it — The framework market is loud, so the useful move is to compare candidates on four questions that do not depend on branding.
• agent memory: what to persist, where, and for how long — Memory is the layer with the largest gap between what is demonstrated and what is operated.
• ai agent tools: the categories, and what each one is for — The phrase "AI agent tools" covers two different things, and confusing them produces bad architecture.
• agent evaluation: what to measure before and after shipping — Evaluation is the layer teams postpone longest, because it looks like extra work before the first release and like insurance only after the first regression.
• A buying checklist, in the order it matters — Written as a sequence, because each step makes the next one cheaper to decide.
• Where SmartGate fits — SmartGate is the place in this stack where the record and the enforcement point are the same object.
• Limitations — This page is a selection guide, not a benchmark: no tool is ranked, because the ranking depends on where your state, your record and your credentials already live.

Read the full piece: LLMOps: The Four Layers an Agent Stack Must Cover on smartgate.network.