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System Design Deep Dive: Real-World Distributed Systems

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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Overview

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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

Learning Roadmap

158 Lessons111 Quizzes

Prologue

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

Case Studies: Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

File Systems

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.

Google Colossus File System

3 Lessons

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

Facebook's Tectonic File System

8 Lessons

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

Databases

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.

Google Megastore

6 Lessons

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

Google Spanner

9 Lessons

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

10.

Key-value Stores

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

12.

Scaling Memcache

7 Lessons

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

13.

SILT

12 Lessons

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

14.

Amazon DynamoDB

8 Lessons

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

15.

Concurrency Management

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.

17.

Google Chubby Locking Service

8 Lessons

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

18.

ZooKeeper

5 Lessons

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

19.

Big Data Processing: Batch to Stream Processing

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.

21.

Spark

10 Lessons

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

22.

Kafka

8 Lessons

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

23.

Consensus

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.

25.

Two-phase Commit

4 Lessons

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

26.

State Machine Replication

10 Lessons

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

27.

Paxos

6 Lessons

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

28.

Raft

8 Lessons

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

29.

Epilogue

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.

Developed by MAANG Engineers

Every Educative lesson is designed by a team of ex-MAANG software engineers and PhD computer science educators, and developed in consultation with developers and data scientists working at Meta, Google, and more. Our mission is to get you hands-on with the necessary skills to stay ahead in a constantly changing industry. No video, no fluff. Just interactive, project-based learning with personalized feedback that adapts to your goals and experience.

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Hands-on Learning Powered by AI

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Personalized Interview Prep

Skip the LeetCode grind with a custom roadmap that adapts to your goals. Hands-on practice for Coding Interviews, System Design, and more.

Mock Interviews

Test your skills in a simulated interview setting. Receive personalized feedback based on your performance. Available for Coding Interviews, System Design, and more.

AI Prompt

Build prompt engineering skills. Practice implementing AI-informed solutions.

Code Feedback

Evaluate and debug your code with the click of a button. Get real-time feedback on test cases, including time and space complexity of your solutions.

Explain with AI

Select any text within any Educative course, and get an instant explanation — without ever leaving your browser.

AI Code Mentor

AI Code Mentor helps you quickly identify errors in your code, learn from your mistakes, and nudge you in the right direction — just like a 1:1 tutor!

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