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System Design Deep Dive: Real-World Distributed Systems
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Ready to become a System Design pro? Unlock the world’s largest distributed systems, including file systems, data processing systems, and databases from hyperscalers like Google, Meta, and Amazon.

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This course deep dives into how large, real-world systems are built and operated to meet strict service-level agreements. You’ll learn the building blocks of a modern system design by picking and combining the right pieces and understanding their trade-offs. You’ll learn about some great systems from hyperscalers such as Google, Facebook, and Amazon. This course has hand-picked seminal work in system design that has stood the test of time and is grounded on strong principles. You will learn all these principles and see them in action in real-world systems. After taking this course, you will be able to solve various system design interview problems. You will have a deeper knowledge of an outage of your favorite app and will be able to understand their event post-mortem reports. This course will set your system design standards so that you can emulate similar success in your endeavors.

This course deep dives into how large, real-world systems are built and operated to meet strict service-level agreements. You’ll...Show More

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

Working knowledge of building large-scale systems

Ability to evaluate common system design trade-offs

Ability to map interview questions and on-job design tasks to well-known systems

Familiarity with the complexity of real-world systems behind a seemingly simple system

Understanding of large cloud service providers hosted in geographically dispersed data centers

Working knowledge of building large-scale systems

TAKEAWAY SKILLS

System Design

Prepare for Interview

Content

158 Lessons111 Quizzes

Prologue

1 Lessons

Get familiar with core system design principles, case studies, and critical evaluation techniques.

Case Studies: Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

File Systems

1 Lessons

Look at the role and evolution of distributed file systems for scalable data management.

Introduction to Distributed File Systems

Google File System (GFS)

11 Lessons

Examine the Google File System's design for scalability, performance, and fault tolerance in distributed environments.

GFS Deep Dive for System Design

GFS File Operations

Detailed Design of GFS

Workflow of Create and Read File Operations in GFS

Workflow of Write Operations in GFS

Workflow of Delete and Snapshot Operations in GFS

Relaxed Data Consistency Model

Dealing with Data Inconsistencies in GFS

Metadata Consistency Model of GFS

Evaluation of GFS

Quiz on GFS

Google Colossus File System

3 Lessons

Break down the steps to Colossus's scalability, low-latency, and enhanced control in data management.

Colossus Deep Dive for System Design

Design and Evaluation of Colossus

Quiz on Colossus

Facebook's Tectonic File System

8 Lessons

Consolidate storage resources and ensure scalability, efficiency, and performance isolation in advanced systems.

Tectonic Deep Dive for System Design

ZippyDB Design

Detailed Design of Tectonic

Multitenancy in Tectonic

Tenant-specific Optimization in Tectonic

Empirical Evaluation of Tectonic's Functional Requirements

Evaluation of Tectonic

Quiz on Tectonic

Databases

1 Lessons

Investigate the evolution and trade-offs in distributed database systems like Bigtable, Megastore, and Spanner.

Introduction to Distributed Databases

Google Bigtable

7 Lessons

Piece together the parts of Google's Bigtable, focusing on its data model, architecture, and design refinements.

Bigtable Deep Dive for System Design

Data Model of Bigtable

Detailed Design of Bigtable: Part I

Detailed Design of Bigtable: Part II

Design Refinements in Bigtable

Evaluation of Bigtable

Quiz on Bigtable

Google Megastore

6 Lessons

Learn how to use Megastore for scalable, reliable, and ACID-compliant cloud storage.

Megastore Deep Dive for System Design

High-level Design for Better Availability and Scalability

Data Model of Megastore

Replication in Megastore

Evaluation of Megastore

Quiz on Megastore

Google Spanner

9 Lessons

Look at Google Spanner’s unique combination of SQL consistency, NoSQL scalability, and global performance.

Spanner Deep Dive for System Design

Detailed Design of Spanner

Database Buckets and Data Model of Spanner

TrueTime API in Spanner

Spanner, TrueTime, and the CAP Theorem

Concurrency Control in Spanner

Database Operations in Spanner

Evaluation of Spanner

Quiz on Spanner

10.

Key-value Stores

1 Lessons

Examine key-value stores' role in distributed systems and their foundational impact on NoSQL databases.

Introduction to Key-value Stores

11.

Many-core Key-value Store

5 Lessons

Break down the steps to design an efficient, power-saving many-core key-value store system

Many-Core Key-Value Store Deep Dive for System Design

Estimations and Limitations of a Many-core System

Detailed Design of a Many-core System

Evaluation of the Many-core System

Quiz on Many-core Systems

12.

Scaling Memcache

7 Lessons

Solve problems in scaling Memcache, managing data replication, performance optimization, and consistency.

Scaling Memcache Deep Dive for System Design

Single-server Level of Memcache

Cluster Level of Memcache

Regional Level of Memcache

Cross-regional Level of Memcache

Evaluation of Memcache

Quiz on Memcache

13.

SILT

12 Lessons

Investigate optimizing key-value stores for efficient resource use, low latency, and scalability.

SILT Deep Dive for System Design

High-level Design of SILT

A Write-friendly Store for SILT: Part I

A Write-friendly Store for SILT: Part II

A Write-friendly Store for SILT: Part III

Intermediary Store(s) in SILT

A Memory-efficient Store for SILT: Part I

A Memory-efficient Store for SILT: Part II

A Memory-efficient Store for SILT: Part III

Request Flows in SILT

Evaluating and Extending the Design of SILT

Quiz on SILT

14.

Amazon DynamoDB

8 Lessons

Build on DynamoDB's scalability, flexible schemas, and robust high availability mechanisms.

DynamoDB Deep Dive for System Design

High-level Design of DynamoDB

No Fixed Schema in DynamoDB

Partitioning and Replication in DynamoDB

Adapting to Traffic Patterns in DynamoDB

Durability and Correctness in DynamoDB

Ensuring High Availability in DynamoDB

Quiz on DynamoDB

15.

Concurrency Management

1 Lessons

Get familiar with managing concurrency using locks and service systems for operational consistency.

Introduction to Concurrency Management

16.

Two-phase Locking (2PL)

3 Lessons

Unpack the core of Two-Phase Locking (2PL), ensuring serializability while addressing deadlocks and performance issues.

Two-Phase Locking (2PL) Deep Dive for System Design

Analysis and Evaluation of Two-Phase Locking (2PL)

Quiz on 2PL

17.

Google Chubby Locking Service

8 Lessons

Examine Chubby's innovative, robust design for distributed systems, enhancing fault tolerance, replication, and client coordination.

Chubby Locking Deep Dive for System Design

Detailed Design of Chubby: Part I

Detailed Design of Chubby: Part II

Detailed Design of Chubby: Part III

Detailed Design of Chubby: Part IV

The Rationale Behind Chubby’s Design

Evaluation of Chubby

Quiz on Chubby

18.

ZooKeeper

5 Lessons

Break down complex ideas of ZooKeeper's architecture, primitives, and performance in distributed systems.

ZooKeeper Deep Dive for System Design

Detailed Design of ZooKeeper

Primitives of ZooKeeper

Evaluation of ZooKeeper

Quiz on ZooKeeper

19.

Big Data Processing: Batch to Stream Processing

1 Lessons

Take a closer look at big data systems like MapReduce, Spark, and Kafka.

Introduction to Big Data Processing Systems

20.

MapReduce

8 Lessons

See how it works to streamline parallel data processing, fault tolerance, and scalability using MapReduce.

MapReduce Deep Dive for System Design

High-level Design of MapReduce

MapReduce: Detailed Design

Design Refinements in MapReduce: Part I

Design Refinements in MapReduce: Part II

MapReduce: Evaluation

Concluding MapReduce

Quiz on MapReduce

21.

Spark

10 Lessons

Master the steps to leverage Spark's in-memory computation for scalable, low-latency data processing.

Spark Deep Dive for System Design

Requirements of Spark

High-level Design of Spark

Resilient Distributed Datasets of Spark

Parallel Operations in Spark

Shared Variables in Spark

Detailed Design of Spark

Refinements in Spark

Evaluation of Spark

Quiz on Spark

22.

Kafka

8 Lessons

Learn how to use Kafka for efficient, scalable, and reliable real-time data streaming.

Kafka Deep Dive for System Design

High-level Design of Kafka

Detailed Design of Kafka

Efficiency of Kafka

Distributed Coordination in Kafka

Delivery Guarantees of Kafka

Evaluation of Kafka

Quiz on Kafka

23.

Consensus

1 Lessons

Look at essential consensus algorithms for fault-tolerant distributed systems design.

Introduction to Consensus in Distributed Systems

24.

Understanding Consensus: Two Generals, FLP, & Byzantine Generals

4 Lessons

Examine consensus challenges in distributed systems, including the Two Generals, FLP, and Byzantine Generals problems.

Consensus Prerequisites and Two Generals' Problem

FLP Impossibility

The Byzantine Generals Problem

Let AI Evaluate Your Understanding of Consensus Fundamentals

25.

Two-phase Commit

4 Lessons

Grasp the fundamentals of the Two-Phase Commit protocol for ensuring distributed transaction consistency.

Two-Phase Commit (2PC) Deep Dive for System Design

Working of the Two-Phase Commit Protocol

Failures in the Two-Phase Commit Protocol

Quiz on Two-Phase Commit

26.

State Machine Replication

10 Lessons

Take a closer look at replicating state machines for fault tolerance, coordinated requests, and fault-tolerant outputs.

State Machine Replication Deep Dive for System Design

State Machines

Replication and Coordination of State Machines

Ordering Requests: Part I

Ordering Requests: Part II

Fault Tolerance for Outputs and Clients

Protocols for Maintaining Fault Tolerance: Part I

Protocols for Maintaining Fault Tolerance: Part II

SMR in Practice Via a Log

Quiz on State Machine Replication

27.

Paxos

6 Lessons

See how Paxos maintains consensus in distributed systems, addressing safety, liveness, and fault tolerance.

Paxos Deep Dive for System Design

Basic Paxos Protocol Design

Basic Paxos in Action

The Rationale behind Paxos Design Choices

Multi-Paxos

Quiz on Paxos

28.

Raft

8 Lessons

Piece together the parts of the Raft algorithm, ensuring consistent, reliable distributed systems.

Raft Deep Dive for System Design

Raft's Basics and High-Level Workflow

Raft's Leader Election Protocol

Raft's Log Replication Protocol

Raft's Safety, Fault-Tolerance, and Availability Protocols

Raft's Cluster Membership Changes

Log Compaction and Client Interaction in Raft

Quiz on Raft

29.

Epilogue

1 Lessons

Stay updated on system design, apply knowledge in real-world scenarios, and continue learning.

Conclusion

Certificate of Completion

Showcase your accomplishment by sharing your certificate of completion.

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