Grokking the Fundamentals of System Design

Fundamentals of System Design covers the core principles for creating scalable, reliable, and secure systems, providing a solid foundation for real-world architecture and System Design interviews.

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40 Lessons

Updated this week

Fundamentals of System Design covers the core principles for creating scalable, reliable, and secure systems, providing a solid foundation for real-world architecture and System Design interviews.

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Course Overview

System Design is central to building applications that scale reliably and operate securely. In this course, you’ll explore the foundational concepts behind modern system architecture and why these principles matter when creating real-world software systems or preparing for System Design interviews. You’ll begin by examining the basics of system architecture, then move on to distributed system concepts, including consistency, availability, coordination, and fault tolerance. Next, you’ll explore communicatio...Show More

What You'll Learn

An understanding of core System Design principles, including scalability, reliability, and maintainability

A working knowledge of distributed system concepts, such as consistency, replication, and coordination

Hands-on experience evaluating communication models, API styles, and data flow in distributed architectures

Familiarity with SQL, NoSQL, and NewSQL databases, and the ability to choose between them

The ability to apply observability and security practices to build resilient and secure systems

The ability to assess architectural trade-offs and make informed design decisions

What You'll Learn

An understanding of core System Design principles, including scalability, reliability, and maintainability

Course Content

Introduction to System Design

Master system design principles, architecture distinctions, and requirement balancing for scalable applications.

What Is System Design?

System Design vs. Software Architecture

Monolithic vs. Microservices Architecture

Functional vs. Non-Functional Requirements in System Design

Distributed System Fundamentals

Explore key concepts of distributed systems, focusing on time, consistency, coordination, and fault tolerance.

Communication in Distributed Systems

Master essential protocols, communication methods, and API styles for effective distributed systems design.

Essential Network Protocols for Distributed Systems Synchronous vs. Asynchronous Communication in Distributed Systems Communication Patterns in Distributed Systems API Architectural Styles: REST, GraphQL, RPC Data Serialization in Distributed Systems

Storage and Data Management

Explore diverse storage systems, database models, and optimization techniques for scalable system design.

Types of Storage Systems: Block, File, and Object Storage Types of Storage Systems: Block, File, and Object Storage ACID vs. BASE Database Transaction Models Indexing and Query Optimization in Database Systems Spatial Indexing with Quadtree and R-Tree in System Design Synchronous vs. Asynchronous Replication Database Partitioning and Sharding in System Design Consistent Hashing for Scalable System Design

Security in System Design

Master secure system design by exploring the CIA triad, authentication, encryption, and threat mitigation strategies.

CIA Triad in Secure System Design Authentication and Authorization in System Design Secure Communication Protocols in System Design Encryption Fundamentals for System Security and Data Protection Common Security Threats and Mitigations in System Design

Trade-Offs and Real-World Design Principles

4 Lessons

Master system design by navigating trade-offs, scaling techniques, and technology selection.

Wrapping Up Fundamentals of System Design

2 Lessons

Master system design interviews and advance your architectural thinking skills.

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