5.2 Architecture Overview

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) [i.18] is an open standard and open-source framework for creating a unified interface through which models with language capabilities can seamlessly interact with external resources, including data sources and computational capabilities.

MCP enables AI agents to interact with external systems, such as those providing access to search engines, databases, or IoT platforms. MCP enables applications to provide context to various kind of language models in the form of human-readable API or functionality descriptions.

Figure 5.2-1 shows an architecture overview of the Model Context Protocol. AI agents use MCP to interact with external software services via MCP servers that expose API functionalities.

The Model Context Protocol follows a client-server architecture, allowing an MCP Host application to connect to multiple servers. The interfaces of the non-AI software are exposed through an MCP Server. The AI agent may have one or more MCP Client(s). MCP clients connect to their corresponding servers in a one-to-one relationship.

Figure 5.2-1: Architecture overview