What are the 5 criteria for system design?

System design is essential for creating scalable, efficient, and reliable systems. To ensure a system meets both present and future needs, it must adhere to key design principles. Here are the five most critical criteria for system design, explained in detail.

1. Scalability

Definition

The system's ability to handle an increasing workload or expand effortlessly as demand grows.

Considerations

• Horizontal Scaling: Adding more machines or servers to distribute the workload.
• Vertical Scaling: Upgrading existing hardware to improve capacity.
• Load Balancing: Distributing incoming requests evenly across servers to prevent bottlenecks.
• Partitioning: Dividing data into smaller, manageable segments (e.g., database sharding) to improve performance.

Importance

Scalability ensures the system can accommodate growth without performance degradation, making it crucial for high-traffic systems.

2. Reliability

Definition

The ability of a system to function correctly and consistently without failures over time.

Considerations

• Redundancy: Adding duplicate components to take over in case of failure (e.g., backup servers).
• Fault Tolerance: Designing systems to continue operating even if some components fail.
• Error Handling: Implementing robust mechanisms to detect, report, and recover from errors.

Importance

Reliability builds user trust and ensures critical services remain operational under various conditions.

3. Performance

Definition

How efficiently the system processes requests and responds to users.

Considerations

• Latency: Minimize the time it takes to respond to user requests.
• Throughput: Maximize the number of requests or transactions the system can handle in a given timeframe.
• Optimization: Improve code, query efficiency, and infrastructure to enhance speed and reduce resource usage.

Importance

Performance directly impacts user experience and satisfaction, especially for systems requiring real-time interactions.

4. Availability

Definition

The degree to which a system is operational and accessible when needed.

Considerations

• Uptime Goals: Define acceptable downtime levels (e.g., 99.9% availability means ~43 minutes of downtime per month).
• Failover Mechanisms: Ensure backup systems are ready to take over in case of outages.
• Monitoring and Alerting: Track system health and address issues promptly.
• Disaster Recovery: Plan for quick restoration of services in case of catastrophic failures.

Importance

High availability ensures the system can meet user demands consistently, even under adverse conditions.

5. Security

Definition

The ability to protect the system from unauthorized access, breaches, and malicious activities.

Considerations

• Authentication and Authorization: Verify users and control access to resources.
• Data Encryption: Secure data at rest and in transit.
• Vulnerability Management: Regularly update and patch systems to mitigate security flaws.
• Secure APIs: Protect API endpoints from common threats like injection attacks and data leaks.

Importance

Security safeguards user data and system integrity, preventing breaches and ensuring compliance with regulations.

Additional Considerations

While these five criteria are fundamental, other factors can further enhance system design:

• Usability: Ensure the system is user-friendly and intuitive.
• Cost Efficiency: Balance performance and scalability with budget constraints.
• Interoperability: Design systems to integrate seamlessly with other platforms or technologies.
• Flexibility: Enable the system to adapt to evolving requirements and new technologies.

Resources to Master System Design

To excel in system design, leverage high-quality learning resources:

• Grokking System Design Fundamentals for foundational knowledge.
• Grokking the System Design Interview for practical interview preparation.
• Grokking the Advanced System Design Interview for advanced concepts.
• Grokking Microservices Design Patterns for microservices architecture.

Conclusion

Effective system design balances scalability, reliability, performance, availability, and security to create robust, efficient, and adaptable systems. By focusing on these criteria and leveraging structured resources, you can build systems that meet user needs and withstand future demands.