What is System Design?
System design is the process of defining the architecture, components, modules, interfaces, and data for a system to satisfy specified requirements. It involves translating user requirements into a detailed blueprint that guides the implementation phase.
System design deals with designing a system that meets functional and non-functional business requirements. While designing such systems, one needs to think about various system design components, complexity, performance, scalability, availability etc. So it would be best to have an excellent understanding of essential system design terms.
We need to know about scalability(horizontal and vertical), caching, load balancing, data partitioning, various types of databases, network protocols, database sharding, and many more. Similarly, we need to consider various tradeoffs like: latency vs throughput, performance vs scalability, consistency vs availability, etc. Overall, system design is an open-ended discussion topic. That’s why most top tech firms prefer to have one or two system design interview rounds.
System design gives you a technical solution for your requirements. System design is an iterative process, so you may end up with multiple designs that will meet the system requirements.
System design is a huge topic. Everyone has a different approach to it as there is no step by step guidelines. In this tutorial, we will go through the basics to give you an idea of what it is and how it works. So let’s dive in to get familiar with the essential concepts used in system design.
With the rapid advancement of technology and increasing complexity of software applications, mastering system design concepts has become essential for programmers to build efficient and effective systems.
Why should I learn system design?
Over the last two decades, there have been a lot of advancements in large-scale web applications. These advancements have redefined the way we think about software development. All of the apps and services that we use daily, like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, are scalable systems. Billions of people worldwide access these systems concurrently, so they need to be designed to handle large amounts of traffic and data. This is where system design comes in.
As a software developer, you’ll be increasingly expected to understand system design concepts and how to apply them. In the early stages of your career, learning system design will allow you to tackle software design problems with more confidence and apply design principles to your everyday work. As you progress through your career and begin interviewing for higher-level positions, system design will become a larger part of your interview process. So, no matter what your level is, system design matters to you.
Because of its increasing importance, we wanted to create a resource to help you navigate the world of system design. This guide details the fundamental concepts of system design and also links you to relevant resources to help you gain a deeper understanding and acquire real-world, hands-on experience.
In any development process, be it Software or any other tech, the most important stage is Design. Without the designing phase, you cannot jump to the implementation or the testing part. The same is the case with the System as well.
System Design Concepts
It is crucial for software engineers or technical professionals to understand various concepts to make informed decisions about scalability, performance and various tradeoffs. On another side, system design is also one of the important concepts that tech companies ask during the interview process.
For large-scale software applications, it provides a high-level understanding of the components and their relationships. In other words, it helps us to define architecture by breaking down the system into small components and making it easier to understand.
- Availability
- Throughput
- Latency
- Network Protocols
- Load Balancing
- Proxies
- Databases
- Scalability
- Caching
- Consistent Hashing
Whether you’re a seasoned professional or just starting your tech career, this guide will serve as a valuable resource for enhancing your system design knowledge and boosting your confidence in interviews.