Cover the basics and learn how to design and develop distributed systems.

Become a Distributed Systems Professional

Gone are the days when monolithic applications were the norm. Most applications we use today are too complex for that type of construction. Instead, most applications that appear as a single unit are actually built as a collection of inter-operating but independent computational components. Developers are expected to have mastery over a programming language or two. Moreover, they should also know the basics of distributed systems.

In this module, we’ll learn what distributed systems are, and learn about the challenges unique to distributed systems. We’ll cover popular architectural patterns for achieving targets like replication and sharding. We’ll complete the module with a study of two popular distributed systems: Apache Spark and Apache Druid. With the knowledge gained through this module, we’ll be able to design and develop distributed systems. We’ll also develop an understanding of optimal design and architectural choices based on the application requirements.

Introduction to Distributed Systems for Dummies

If your system ran for $t$ amount of time over a time range of $T$, how would you calculate the availability of the system?

If your system ran for <math><semantics><mrow><mi>t</mi></mrow><annotation encoding="application/x-tex">t</annotation></semantics></math>t amount of time over a time range of <math><semantics><mrow><mi>T</mi></mrow><annotation encoding="application/x-tex">T</annotation></semantics></math>T, how would you calculate the availability of the system?

**(True or False)** For distributed systems, it is okay to occasionally have downtime for a few days as it does not hurt the business at all.

(True or False) For distributed systems, it is okay to occasionally have downtime for a few days as it does not hurt the business at all.

**(Fill in the Blank)** In context of availability , 4-and-a-half nines means ________. 

(Fill in the Blank) In context of availability , 4-and-a-half nines means ________.

Two nodes running the exact same server process.

**(Select All That Apply)** Which of these are examples of Single Points of Failure (SPoF)?

(Select All That Apply) Which of these are examples of Single Points of Failure (SPoF)?

**(True or False)** Some systems can easily achieve $100\%$ availability.

(True or False) Some systems can easily achieve <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><semantics><mrow><mn>100</mn><mi mathvariant="normal">%</mi></mrow><annotation encoding="application/x-tex">100\%</annotation></semantics></math>100% availability.

**(True or False)** **SLA** (Service Level Agreement) is a combination of **SLOs** (Service Level Objectives) which are compared against **SLIs** (Service Level Indicators).

(True or False) SLA (Service Level Agreement) is a combination of SLOs (Service Level Objectives) which are compared against SLIs (Service Level Indicators).

Test your knowledge of availability in distributed systems.

Quick Quiz #3: Availability in Distributed Systems