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Distributed Systems for Practitioners

Delve into distributed systems, exploring core principles, key algorithms, and protocols. Gain insights into design decisions, trade-offs, and practical implementation.

4.5

167 Lessons

9h 30min

Updated this week

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LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Learn some of the complexities inherent in distributed systems.
Learn the key design problems in distributed systems.
Learn the key algorithms used in distributed systems.
Study the design of some real-life distributed systems.
Establish the concepts every system designer needs to know for efficient design of large-scale systems.
Learn the concepts software engineers need to know to make good use of distributed systems.

Learning Roadmap

167 Lessons17 Quizzes

Before Getting Started

Get familiar with the basics of distributed systems and core concepts for beginners.

Introduction

Introduction to Distributed Systems

Get started with the essentials of distributed systems, including benefits, challenges, and failure handling.

Getting Started

Fallacies of Distributed Computing

Difficulties Designing Distributed Systems

Measures of Correctness in Distributed Systems

System Models

Types of Failures

The Tale of Exactly-Once Semantics

Failure in the World of Distributed Systems

Stateless and Stateful Systems

Quiz on Essentials of Distributed Systems

Basic Concepts and Theorems

18 Lessons

Examine key distributed systems concepts: partitioning, replication, algorithms, CAP theorem, consistency, and isolation.

Distributed Transactions

2 Lessons

Break down complex ideas in distributed transactions and their challenges across multiple nodes.

Achieving Isolation

6 Lessons

Map out the steps for achieving isolation in concurrent transactions using various control mechanisms.

Achieving Atomicity

5 Lessons

Focus on achieving atomicity in distributed transactions through 2PC, 3PC, and quorum protocols.

Concluding Distributed Transactions

2 Lessons

Test your understanding of distributed transactions, ACID guarantees, and the saga pattern.

Consensus

12 Lessons

Learn how to use consensus algorithms like Paxos and Raft in distributed systems.

Time

5 Lessons

Walk through time handling in distributed systems, addressing event order without global clocks.

10.

Order

10 Lessons

Work your way through event ordering, causality, and time synchronization in distributed systems.

11.

Networking

9 Lessons

Grasp the fundamentals of networking layers, protocols, and their roles in distributed systems.

12.

Security

7 Lessons

Take a look at key security challenges in distributed systems, including authentication, confidentiality, and integrity.

13.

Security Protocols

5 Lessons

Follow the process of ensuring secure communication and validating entities in distributed systems.

14.

From Theory to Practice

Master the steps to categorizing distributed systems and applying previously learned principles.

Introduction

15.

Case Study 1: Distributed File Systems

5 Lessons

Step through the design, operations, and consistency models of distributed file systems.

16.

Case Study 2: Distributed Coordination Service

6 Lessons

Get started with Zookeeper for distributed coordination, ensuring reliable, efficient service management.

17.

Case Study 3: Distributed Data Stores

16 Lessons

Examine diverse distributed data stores including their architecture, performance, and consistency guarantees.

18.

Case Study 4: Distributed Messaging System

5 Lessons

Break down the steps to optimize, configure, and ensure messaging guarantees in Kafka.

19.

Case Study 5: Distributed Cluster Management

3 Lessons

Solve problems in distributed cluster management using Kubernetes components and resource coordination.

20.

Case Study 6: Distributed Ledger

5 Lessons

Focus on Corda's distributed ledger, its architecture, data model, and ensuring backwards compatibility.

21.

Case Study 7: Distributed Data Processing Systems

10 Lessons

Master distributed data processing with MapReduce, Apache Spark, and Apache Flink frameworks.

22.

Practices & Patterns

Get familiar with fundamental practices and patterns for effective distributed systems.

Introduction

23.

Communication Patterns

4 Lessons

Discover the logic behind communication patterns, data transfer, and models in distributed systems.

24.

Coordination Patterns

Break apart key coordination patterns, orchestration vs. choreography, and ensure atomic operations.

Coordination Patterns

25.

Data Synchronization

3 Lessons

Grasp the fundamentals of data synchronization, event sourcing, and Change Data Capture.

26.

Shared-nothing Architectures

2 Lessons

Take a closer look at shared-nothing architectures, optimizing scalability, availability, and fault tolerance in distributed systems.

27.

Distributed Locking

2 Lessons

Tackle distributed locking challenges and ensure safe operations using leases and fencing techniques.

28.

Compatibility Patterns

2 Lessons

Master techniques for maintaining backwards compatibility in evolving distributed systems.

29.

Dealing with Failure

6 Lessons

Solve problems in handling and minimizing failures in distributed systems effectively.

30.

Distributed Tracing

Get started with distributed tracing, logging execution, and optimizing performance in complex systems.

Recording Program's Execution

31.

Concluding this Course

2 Lessons

Go hands-on with performance, scalability, security, and practical applications in distributed systems.

Certificate of Completion

Showcase your accomplishment by sharing your certificate of completion.

Developed by MAANG Engineers

ABOUT THIS COURSE

This course is about establishing the basic principles of distributed systems. It explains the scope of their functionality by discussing what they can and cannot achieve. It also covers the basic algorithms and protocols of distributed systems through easy-to-follow examples and diagrams that illustrate the thinking behind some design decisions and expand on how they can be practiced. This course also discusses some of the issues that might arise when doing so, eliminates confusion around some terms (e.g., consistency), and fosters thinking about trade-offs when designing distributed systems. Moreover, it provides plenty of additional resources for those who want to invest more time in gaining a deeper understanding of the theoretical aspects of distributed systems.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dimos Raptis

Software Engineer with over a decade of experience writing software, an MEng in Electrical and Computer Engineering, an MSc in Software Engineering and a passion for building secure, robust and maintainable systems.

Learn more about Dimos

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