SharePoint 2010 architecture

If you are trying to get an initial understanding of the SharePoint 2010 architecture, here are some good references:
· SharePoint 2010 Architecture - http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg552610.aspx - this is a good starting place if you are not familiar with SharePoint.
· SharePoint 2010 Technical Diagrams - http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc263199.aspx - all the big picture of both physical and logical architecture.
· Hardware and Software Requirements - http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc262485.aspx - I suggest reading this right off the bat.
Performance, scaling, business continuity topics always come up when starting to learn about SharePoint 2010. Here is a good place to start.
· Performance and capacity technical case studies (SharePoint Server 2010)http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc261716.aspx - More good case studies.
· SharePoint 2010 Performance and Capacity whitepapers - http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff608068.aspx - Whitepapers on specific workloads.
· SharePoint 2010 Capacity boundaries - http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc262787.aspx - This is pretty detailed discussion on testing.
Now if you are familiar with SharePoint 2007 architecture:
· I have written a multiple part series on SharePoint 2010 architecture here-http://www.astaticstate.com/2010/01/sharepoint-2010-service-architecture.html
· I have another blog on scaling SQL Server because this is a critical component to SharePoint -http://www.astaticstate.com/2010/12/sharepoint-2010-high-availability-with.html.
· Here is a series on SharePoint 2010 Search - http://www.astaticstate.com/2010/12/sharepoint-2010-search-architecture.html
· Here is a series on FAST for SharePoint 2010 - http://www.astaticstate.com/2011/01/part-1-fast-for-sharepoint-2010.html