What are the 3 main issues in designing distributed systems?

Mitigation Strategies:

• Implement robust protocols (e.g., TCP for reliable communication).
• Use techniques like retries, acknowledgments, and timeouts for handling failures.
• Optimize data transfer to reduce bandwidth consumption.

2. Consistency and Coordination

Maintaining consistency across distributed nodes and ensuring proper coordination is complex due to the lack of a central control point.

Key Issues:

• Data Consistency: Ensuring that all nodes have the same view of the data (e.g., eventual consistency vs. strong consistency).
• Concurrency: Managing simultaneous updates to shared resources without conflicts.
• Synchronization: Ensuring that clocks across nodes are synchronized for accurate event ordering.

Mitigation Strategies:

• Choose consistency models based on use case (e.g., CAP theorem trade-offs).
• Use distributed algorithms like Paxos or Raft for consensus.
• Leverage logical clocks or vector clocks for synchronization.

3. Fault Tolerance and Reliability

Distributed systems are prone to failures due to their dependence on multiple components and networks.

Key Issues:

• Node Failures: A single node crashing can impact the system if not handled properly.
• Network Failures: Communication breakdowns can lead to partial system outages.
• Data Loss: Failures may result in lost or corrupted data.

Mitigation Strategies:

• Implement replication to store multiple copies of data across nodes.
• Use redundancy to ensure availability even during node failures.
• Design for failover mechanisms to automatically handle failures.

Importance of Addressing These Issues

Failure to address these challenges can result in reduced performance, unreliable systems, or even complete system breakdowns. By focusing on communication, consistency, and fault tolerance, you can build robust distributed systems that handle real-world complexities effectively.

For advanced insights into distributed systems and their challenges, explore Grokking the Advanced System Design Interview. Mastering these concepts is crucial for designing scalable, efficient, and resilient systems.