System Design

What you'll learn

• Apply the CAP theorem to make consistency vs availability tradeoffs
• Design horizontal scaling with load balancers and stateless services
• Implement multi-layer caching with CDN, Redis, and in-memory stores
• Use message queues for async processing and event-driven architecture
• Shard databases and design read replicas for high-read workloads
• Rate limit and throttle APIs to protect infrastructure
• Design real-world systems: URL shortener, Twitter feed, payment gateway
• Document architecture decisions with clear diagrams