Learning Paths
System Design Interview Roadmap
Decoding the Secrets of Successful System Design Interviews.
This guide is a comprehensive resource that prepares budding software engineers for the challenges of system design interviews. It delves into the intricacies of designing robust, scalable, and efficient systems, mirroring real-world scenarios that are commonly encountered during technical interviews. With a balanced mix of theoretical knowledge and practical exercises, including case studies, this guide ensures a comprehensive understanding of system design principles.
Modules:
5
Annual Subscription
Get instant access to all current and upcoming courses for one year.
OR
Lifetime Access - This Bundle
Get lifetime access to this bundle only.
Discounted Prices for Your Region
Certification on completing the course.
Learning Objectives
Comprehensive Coverage: The guide provides an in-depth understanding of system design principles, covering all essential topics required for technical interviews.
Real-World Scenarios: The guide includes real-world case studies and scenarios to help you understand what to expect and how to handle various situations during an interview.
Expert Guidance: Learn from industry professionals who have been on both sides of the interview table and can provide valuable insights and tips.
Flexibility: Learn at your own pace with this online guide, which you can access anytime, anywhere.
Community Support: Join a community of like-minded learners, share your doubts, discuss ideas, and learn together.
Career Advancement: This guide could be a stepping stone towards landing your dream job in the tech industry.
Path Contents
• 76 Chapters • 584 Lessons
System Design Fundamentals
Learn the core building blocks of scalable systems (load balancing, caching, databases, APIs) in a beginner-friendly, text-based course. From the creators of Grokking the System Design Interview.
• 27 Chapters • 171 Lessons
Hide Contents
1.
System Design Fundamentals
1 lesson
2.
Key Characteristics of Distributed Systems
9 lessons
3.
Back-of-the-Envelope Estimation
6 lessons
5.
Long-Polling vs. WebSockets vs. Server-Sent Events
7 lessons
6.
Domain Name System (DNS)
5 lessons
10.
Rate Limiting and Throttling
6 lessons
14.
Redundancy and Replication
6 lessons
16.
Databases (SQL vs. NoSQL)
12 lessons
19.
Quorum
4 lessons
20.
Leader and Follower
3 lessons
21.
Heartbeat
3 lessons
22.
Checksum
4 lessons
24.
Distributed File Systems
5 lessons
26.
Misc Concepts
10 lessons
Batch Processing vs. Stream Processing
XML vs. JSON
Synchronous vs. Asynchronous Communication
Push vs. Pull Notification Systems
Microservices vs. Serverless Architecture
Message Queues vs. Service Bus
Stateful vs. Stateless Architecture
Event-Driven vs. Polling Architecture
Flashcards Review
Chapter Assessment
27.
Final Quiz
1 lesson
Grokking the System Design Interview
The original Grokking System Design course by DesignGurus.io, created by the original authors and updated for modern system design interviews.
• 4 Chapters • 82 Lessons
Hide Contents
1.
How to Approach a System Design Interview
7 lessons
What is a System Design Interview?
Understand the purpose of system design interviews, focusing on scalability, architecture decisions, trade-offs, and real-world problem-solving skills.
System Design Interviews - A step by step guide
Functional vs. Non-functional Requirements
Master functional vs. non-functional requirements in system design, emphasizing scalability, performance, and trade-offs for building robust, real-world systems.
What are Back-of-the-Envelope Estimations?
Master back-of-the-envelope estimation to assess scalability, performance, and trade-offs using quick calculations in system design interviews.
System Design Master Template
Things to Avoid During System Design Interview
Learn what to avoid in system design interviews, like skipping trade-offs, ignoring requirements, poor communication, and rigid thinking.
Quiz
2.
System Design Trade-offs
24 lessons
Importance of Discussing Trade-offs
Demonstrating trade-offs shows maturity, critical thinking, and real-world design skills crucial for scalable, practical system architecture.
Latency vs Throughput
Understand the difference between latency and throughput, and explore strategies to optimize response time and data processing capacity in systems.
Horizontal vs Vertical Scaling
Proxy vs. Reverse Proxy
Understand how proxies and reverse proxies manage client and server traffic in distributed system design to improve security, caching, and scalability.
CDN Usage vs Direct Server Serving
Learn when to use a Content Delivery Network vs direct server hosting based on traffic scale, geographic distribution, and caching efficiency.
Load Balancer vs. API Gateway
Understand differences between Load Balancer and API Gateway in scalable architectures—traffic distribution, request routing, API management, and availability.
API Gateway vs Direct Service Exposure
Explore API Gateway vs Direct Service Exposure in distributed systems—compare centralized routing and security with direct access and reduced latency.
Token Bucket vs Leaky Bucket
Learn how Token Bucket and Leaky Bucket algorithms manage network traffic shaping, rate limiting, and handling of bursty data.
Stateful vs Stateless Architecture
Explore the architecture of stateful vs stateless systems, comparing session handling, scalability, and design trade-offs for APIs and web services.
Serverless Architecture vs Traditional Server-based
Learn serverless system design benefits like dynamic scaling and reduced ops versus traditional server hosting with full control and overhead.
REST vs RPC
Learn the architectural differences between REST and RPC, including stateless resource handling vs. procedure calls, flexibility, scalability, and performance trade-offs.
Synchronous vs Asynchronous Communication
NewPush vs Pull Architecture
NewPolling vs. Long-Polling vs. WebSockets vs. Webhooks
Compare real-time delivery strategies; Polling, Long-Polling, WebSockets, and Webhooks, for scalable, event-driven system communication.
Batch Processing vs Stream Processing
Compare batch vs stream processing in system design; complexity, resource efficiency, continuous vs scheduled data flow, and real-time responsiveness.
SQL vs. NoSQL
Compare SQL vs NoSQL databases based on schema structure, scalability, ACID compliance, flexibility, and best use cases in system design.
Normalization vs Denormalization
NewACID vs BASE Properties in Databases
Understand key differences between ACID and BASE database models, balancing consistency, availability, scalability, and fault tolerance in distributed systems.
Strong vs Eventual Consistency
Explore consistency models in distributed systems, comparing strong and eventual consistency in terms of latency, availability, accuracy, and scalability trade-offs.
Primary-Replica vs Peer-to-Peer Replication
Understand Primary-Replica vs Peer-to-Peer replication models, including data flow, consistency, scalability, fault tolerance, and use cases.
Read Heavy vs Write Heavy System
Explore how system design varies for read-heavy and write-heavy workloads with techniques like batching, replication, and data partitioning.
Server-Side Caching vs Client-Side Caching
Understand server-side vs client-side caching, how they differ in location, control, performance impact, and best use across web apps.
Cache-Aside vs Read-Through, Write-Through vs Write-Back
Explore cache read and write strategies for improving read performance, data consistency, and integrity in scalable systems.
Quiz
3.
System Design Problems
31 lessons
Designing a URL Shortening Service like TinyURL
Quiz - Designing URL Shortner
Designing Pastebin
Quiz - Designing Pastebin
Designing Instagram
Quiz - Designing Instagram
Designing Dropbox
Quiz - Designing Dropbox
Designing Facebook Messenger
Quiz - Designing Facebook Messenger
Designing Twitter
Quiz - Designing Twitter
Designing Youtube or Netflix
Quiz - Designing Youtube
Designing Typeahead Suggestion
Quiz - Designing Typeahead Suggestion
Designing an API Rate Limiter
Quiz - Designing an API Rate Limiter
Designing Twitter Search
Quiz - Designing Twitter Search
Designing a Web Crawler
Quiz - Designing a Web Crawler
Designing Facebook’s Newsfeed
Quiz - Designing Facebook’s Newsfeed
Designing Yelp or Nearby Friends
Quiz - Designing Yelp or Nearby Friends
Designing Uber backend
Quiz - Designing Uber backend
Designing Ticketmaster
Quiz - Designing Ticketmaster
Additional Resources
4.
Glossary of System Design Basics
20 lessons
System Design Basics
Get familiar with core system design concepts, key architectural components, and building blocks of scalable, distributed software systems.
Key Characteristics of Distributed Systems
Explore key characteristics of distributed systems, including scalability, reliability, availability, efficiency, fault tolerance, and manageability.
Load Balancing
Learn how load balancing improves scalability and availability by distributing traffic using smart algorithms, health checks, and redundancy techniques.
Load Balancing Algorithms
Proxies
Learn how forward and reverse proxies improve security, caching, and traffic control by mediating communication between clients and servers.
Caching
Learn caching strategies to improve system performance, including cache types, eviction policies, read/write methods, and cache invalidation techniques.
SQL vs. NoSQL
Compare relational and non-relational databases to understand schema flexibility, scalability, ACID compliance, and ideal use cases for each.
Indexes
Understand how database indexes optimize query performance, enable efficient lookups, and impact write operations in large-scale systems.
Data Partitioning
Learn data partitioning techniques, horizontal, vertical, hybrid, and partitioning criteria to scale databases, improve performance, and balance workloads.
Consistent Hashing
Learn the architecture of scalable systems using consistent hashing for efficient data partitioning, replication, and dynamic node management.
Redundancy and Replication
Learn how redundancy and replication improve system reliability and availability through failover strategies and synchronous, asynchronous, and semi-synchronous replication.
CAP Theorem
Understand why distributed systems must trade off between consistency, availability, and partition tolerance, only two of the three can be guaranteed at any time.
PACELC Theorem
Learn how PACELC extends CAP by showing that even without partitions, distributed systems must balance latency and consistency in replicated environments.
Quorum
Design highly available distributed systems using quorum-based consistency models to coordinate read/write operations across replicated nodes.
Leader and Follower
Understand the architecture of leader-based replication in distributed systems for consistent writes, fault tolerance, and coordinated data synchronization.
Heartbeat
Learn how distributed systems use heartbeat signals to detect server failures and maintain reliable request routing and availability.
Checksum
Explore how distributed systems ensure data integrity by using checksums to detect and prevent data corruption during transmission.
Bloom Filters
Explore space-efficient system design using Bloom filters for fast, probabilistic membership checks with minimal memory and no false negatives.
Long-Polling vs WebSockets vs Server-Sent Events
Understand the system design of real-time communication protocols for scalable push-based updates between client and server.
Quiz
Grokking the System Design Interview, Volume II
The advanced successor to the world's best-selling System Design course, designed to help experienced engineers master complex distributed systems and secure L5/L6 roles.
• 22 Chapters • 142 Lessons
Hide Contents
1.
Course Overview
1 lesson
2.
Designing YouTube Likes Counter (medium)
2 lessons
3.
Designing Notification Service (medium)
2 lessons
4.
Dynamo: How to design a key value store?
12 lessons
5.
Designing Reddit (medium)
2 lessons
6.
Cassandra: How to Design a Wide-column NoSQL Database?
12 lessons
7.
Kafka: How to Design a Distributed Messaging System?
13 lessons
8.
Chubby: How to Design a Distributed Locking Service?
14 lessons
9.
HDFS: How to Design File Storage System?
12 lessons
10.
GFS: How to Design a Distributed File System Storage?
15 lessons
Google File System: Introduction
High-level Architecture
Single Master and Large Chunk Size
Metadata
Master Operations
Anatomy of a Read Operation
Anatomy of a Write Operation
Anatomy of an Append Operation
GFS Consistency Model and Snapshotting
Fault Tolerance, High Availability, and Data Integrity
Garbage Collection
Criticism on GFS
Summary: GFS
Quiz: GFS
Mock Interview: GFS
11.
BigTable: How to Design a Wide Column Storage System?
15 lessons
BigTable: Introduction
BigTable Data Model
System APIs
Partitioning and High-level Architecture
SSTable
GFS and Chubby
Bigtable Components
Working with Tablets
The Life of BigTable's Read & Write Operations
Fault Tolerance and Compaction
BigTable Refinements
BigTable Characteristics
Summary: BigTable
Quiz: BigTable
Mock Interview: BigTable
12.
Design Google Calendar (medium)
2 lessons
13.
Design a Recommendation System (medium)
2 lessons
14.
Designing Gmail (medium)
2 lessons
15.
Designing Google News (medium)
2 lessons
16.
Designing Unique ID Generator (medium)
2 lessons
17.
Designing Code Judging System (medium)
2 lessons
18.
Designing Payment System (hard)
2 lessons
19.
Designing Flash Sale System (hard)
2 lessons
20.
Designing Reminder Alert System (hard)
2 lessons
21.
System Design Patterns
22 lessons
Introduction: System Design Patterns
1. Bloom Filters
2. Consistent Hashing
3. Quorum
4. Leader and Follower
5. Write-ahead Log
6. Segmented Log
7. High-Water Mark
8. Lease
9. Heartbeat
10. Gossip Protocol
11. Phi Accrual Failure Detection
12. Split Brain
13. Fencing
14. Checksum
15. Vector Clocks
16. CAP Theorem
17. PACELC Theorem
18. Hinted Handoff
19. Read Repair
20. Merkle Trees
Quiz
Grokking Microservices Design Patterns
Master microservices design patterns for designing scalable, resilient, and more manageable systems.
• 19 Chapters • 158 Lessons
Hide Contents
1.
Introduction
2 lessons
5.
Service Discovery Pattern
11 lessons
What is Service Discovery Pattern?
The Problem: Service Coordination in Distributed Systems
Service Discovery Pattern: A Solution
The Architecture of the Service Discovery Pattern
The Inner Workings of the Service Discovery Pattern
Service Discovery Pattern: An Example
Performance Implications and Special Considerations
System Design Examples
Security Considerations
Flashcards Review
Chapter Assessment
6.
Circuit Breaker Pattern
9 lessons
Introduction
The Problem: The Struggles of Distributed Systems and Service Failures
The Circuit Breaker Pattern: An Effective Shield Against Cascading Failures
Circuit Breaker Pattern: An Example
Performance Implications and Special Considerations
System Design Examples
Summary
Flashcards Review
Chapter Assessment
7.
Bulkhead Pattern
11 lessons
10.
Service Mesh Pattern
10 lessons
11.
Database per Service Pattern
10 lessons
Introduction to Database per Service
The Problem: One Shared Database
Database per Service: A Solution
The Architecture of Database per Service
Database per Service: An Example
Performance Implications and Special Considerations
Use Cases and System Design Examples
Conclusion
Flashcards Review
Chapter Assessment
12.
Saga Pattern
11 lessons
13.
Transactional Outbox Pattern
10 lessons
Introduction to the Transactional Outbox Pattern
The Problem: Dual Writes
The Transactional Outbox: A Solution
The Architecture of the Outbox Pattern
Transactional Outbox: An Example
Performance Implications and Special Considerations
Use Cases and System Design Examples
Conclusion
Flashcards Review
Chapter Assessment
14.
Event-Driven Architecture Pattern
11 lessons
Introduction
The Problem: Managing Complex Interactions in Distributed Systems
Event-Driven Architecture: A Promising Solution
The Architecture of the Event-Driven Architecture Pattern
The Inner Workings of the Event-Driven Architecture Pattern
Event-Driven Architecture Pattern: An Example
Performance Implications and Special Considerations
Use Cases and System Design Examples
Conclusion
Flashcards Review
Chapter Assessment
15.
CQRS (Command Query Responsibility Segregation)
10 lessons
16.
Event Sourcing Pattern
10 lessons
17.
Configuration Externalization Pattern
10 lessons
Introduction
The Problem: Configuration Management in a Microservices Architecture
The Solution: Configuration Externalization Pattern
How Configuration Externalization Works
Configuration Externalization: A Code Example
Considerations and Implications
Use Cases and Real-world Examples
Conclusion
Flashcards Review
Chapter Assessment
18.
Final Exam
1 lesson
19.
Course Wrap-up
1 lesson
Grokking Design Patterns for Engineers and Managers
Unlock the power of design patterns: Elevate your coding skills with timeless solutions for top-notch software design.
• 4 Chapters • 31 Lessons
Hide Contents
1.
Design Patterns
3 lessons
2.
Creational Patterns
7 lessons
What people say about our courses
Annual Subscription
Get instant access to all current and upcoming courses for one year.
OR
Lifetime Access - This Bundle
Get lifetime access to this bundle only.
Discounted Prices for Your Region
Certification on completing the course.
One-Stop Portal For Tech Interviews.
Copyright © 2026 Design Gurus, LLC. All rights reserved.