System Design Interview Questions

Master distributed systems, scalability, and architecture design

38 QuestionsExpert LevelInterview Prep

Progress Overview

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Topics

1. What is System Design?
2. What is the difference between HLD and L...
3. What is Monolithic Architecture?
4. What is Microservices Architecture?
5. What is Scalability?
6. What is Availability?
7. What is Performance?
8. What is Latency?
9. What is Throughput?
10. What is the difference between Latency a...
11. What is Vertical Scaling?
12. What is Horizontal Scaling?
13. What is SPOF (Single Point of Failure)?
14. Give a real-world example combining mult...
15. What is Client-Server Model?
16. What is Request-Response Cycle?
17. What is Stateless?
18. What is Stateful?
19. What is Synchronous Communication?
20. What is Asynchronous Communication?
21. When to use Synchronous vs Asynchronous?
22. What is CAP Theorem?
23. What is Consistency in CAP Theorem?
24. What is Availability in CAP Theorem?
25. What is Partition Tolerance in CAP Theor...
26. CAP Theorem - Real World Trade-offs
27. CAP Theorem Summary with Examples
28. Interview Question - 'Is CAP Theorem abs...
29. What is Load Balancing?
30. What is Caching?
31. What is a Database?
32. Indexing in Databases
33. What is a Proxy?
34. Forward Proxy
35. Reverse Proxy
36. Forward Proxy vs Reverse Proxy
37. Disadvantages of Proxies
38. When to Use Proxies

1. What is System Design?

Planning phaseBlueprint creationScalability decisions

2. What is the difference between HLD and LLD?

High-level overviewLow-level detailsSystem architecture

3. What is Monolithic Architecture?

Single unitTight couplingSingle codebase

4. What is Microservices Architecture?

Independent servicesLoose couplingSpecific responsibilities

5. What is Scalability?

Load handlingPerformance maintenanceResource adaptation

6. What is Availability?

Uptime percentageService reliabilityDowntime tolerance

7. What is Performance?

Response timeTask completionUser experience

8. What is Latency?

Request completion timeNetwork delayUser perception

9. What is Throughput?

Requests per secondProcessing capacityConcurrent operations

10. What is the difference between Latency and Throughput?

Individual request speedTotal request volumePerformance metrics

11. What is Vertical Scaling?

Server upgradeResource increaseSingle machine

12. What is Horizontal Scaling?

Multiple serversLoad distributionServer addition

13. What is SPOF (Single Point of Failure)?

System vulnerabilityFailure impactRedundancy lack

14. Give a real-world example combining multiple concepts.

Real-world applicationMultiple conceptsSystem requirements

15. What is Client-Server Model?

Request-response patternService provisionDistributed computing

16. What is Request-Response Cycle?

Communication flowProcessing stepsClient-server interaction

17. What is Stateless?

No state persistenceIndependent requestsSelf-contained calls

18. What is Stateful?

State persistenceSession managementContext maintenance

19. What is Synchronous Communication?

Blocking communicationResponse waitingSequential processing

20. What is Asynchronous Communication?

Non-blocking communicationBackground processingEvent-driven

21. When to use Synchronous vs Asynchronous?

Use case selectionPerformance requirementsUser experience

22. What is CAP Theorem?

Distributed systemsThree propertiesTrade-off choice

23. What is Consistency in CAP Theorem?

Data uniformitySimultaneous visibilityState synchronization

24. What is Availability in CAP Theorem?

System uptimeFault toleranceOperational continuity

25. What is Partition Tolerance in CAP Theorem?

Network failure resilienceIndependent operationData synchronization

26. CAP Theorem - Real World Trade-offs

Database choicesConsistency prioritiesAvailability needs

27. CAP Theorem Summary with Examples

Application examplesSystem requirementsTrade-off decisions

28. Interview Question - 'Is CAP Theorem absolute?'

Theorem limitationsNormal operationPartition scenarios

29. What is Load Balancing?

Request distributionServer loadPerformance optimization

30. What is Caching?

Data storageQuick retrievalPerformance improvement

31. What is a Database?

Data organizationAccess managementData persistence

32. Indexing in Databases

Data retrieval speedSearch optimizationQuery performance

33. What is a Proxy?

Intermediary roleRequest handlingSecurity enhancement

34. Forward Proxy

Client protectionContent filteringAccess control

35. Reverse Proxy

Server protectionLoad balancingSSL termination

36. Forward Proxy vs Reverse Proxy

Protection directionIdentity hidingUse case differences

37. Disadvantages of Proxies

Failure riskPerformance costMaintenance complexity

38. When to Use Proxies

Load distributionContent cachingSecurity enhancement