What are the 5 criteria for system design?
When designing a system, five key criteria guide the architecture and ensure the system meets its performance and operational goals. Here are the fundamental criteria:
1. Scalability
A system must be designed to handle an increasing number of users, transactions, or data without a significant drop in performance. Scalability involves:
- Horizontal scaling (adding more machines) and vertical scaling (increasing resources on existing machines).
- Efficient database design to accommodate growing data.
2. Reliability
Reliability ensures that the system operates correctly even in case of failures or unexpected conditions. This includes:
- Redundancy: Having backup systems or data to prevent downtime.
- Fault tolerance: The ability to continue operating smoothly after a component failure.
3. Performance
A system should have low latency (fast response time) and high throughput (the ability to handle large amounts of requests). Key factors affecting performance include:
- Caching: Reducing database queries by storing frequently accessed data in memory.
- Load balancing: Distributing traffic across multiple servers to optimize resource use.
4. Availability
Availability refers to the system’s uptime and its ability to provide service even in the event of failures. This includes:
- Failover mechanisms: Ensuring the system can switch to backup systems when the primary system fails.
- Replication: Running multiple instances of the same service to maintain uptime.
5. Security
Security is critical to protect data and system integrity. Key security principles include:
- Encryption: Securing data both in transit and at rest.
- Authentication and authorization: Verifying user identity and controlling access to system resources.
Learn System Design Efficiently
If you're preparing for a system design interview or want to gain a deeper understanding of these concepts, check out:
- Grokking System Design Fundamentals for beginners.
- Grokking the System Design Interview for practical system design interview preparation.
- Grokking the Advanced System Design Interview for deeper, complex topics.
These resources will guide you through real-world scenarios and help you master system design.
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