Skip to content

MCP (Model Context Protocol) Integration Pattern

A standardization pattern that enables Large Language Models to securely connect with external data sources and tools through a unified protocol. MCP provides a consistent interface for LLMs to interact with various systems while maintaining security boundaries and proper access controls.

When to Use

Use this pattern when you need to connect LLMs to multiple external systems with standardized interfaces, when security and access control are critical, or when you want to create reusable integrations that work across different LLM providers. Essential for enterprise environments requiring controlled access to sensitive systems and data sources.

Architecture Drawing

The architecture shows LLMs connecting to various external systems through MCP servers, with a central MCP registry managing available resources and security policies.

Components: - LLM Client (200, 50) - MCP Registry (400, 50) - Database MCP Server (150, 200) - API MCP Server (300, 200) - File System MCP Server (450, 200) - Security Gateway (400, 150) - Resource Manager (550, 150) - External Database (150, 300) - External API (300, 300) - File Storage (450, 300)

Edges: - LLM Client → MCP Registry: "Resource Discovery" - MCP Registry → Security Gateway: "Access Validation" - Security Gateway → Database MCP Server: "Authenticated Request" - Security Gateway → API MCP Server: "Authenticated Request" - Security Gateway → File System MCP Server: "Authenticated Request" - Database MCP Server → External Database: "Query Execution" - API MCP Server → External API: "API Call" - File System MCP Server → File Storage: "File Operations" - Resource Manager → MCP Registry: "Resource Metadata"

Agentic Orchestration Pattern, Enterprise Security Gateway Pattern, Tool-Augmented LLM Pattern

References

  1. Model Context Protocol Specification - 2024 - Anthropic - Official specification defining the MCP standard for connecting LLMs to external resources
  2. Building Secure AI Integrations with MCP - 2024 - Anthropic Documentation - Practical guide for implementing secure LLM integrations using MCP
  3. MCP Server Examples and Best Practices - 2024 - GitHub - Collection of reference implementations and patterns for MCP server development