Uses the client's IP address to determine which server receives the request, ensuring session persistence. 3. Caching and Content Delivery Networks (CDNs)

If you want to tailor your preparation further, let me know: What is your ?

Start with a single monolithic server and a single database. Only introduce complexity (like caching or sharding) when that simple setup breaks under specific, quantified loads. 2. Core Foundations of Distributed Systems

For those looking to master system design through his methodology:

Estimate daily active users (DAU), read/write ratios, and storage growth over 5 years.

To reduce latency, Sen advocates for caching at multiple levels: Browser caching. CDN: Content Delivery Networks for static assets.

When he began creating content on YouTube, the landscape of System Design preparation was fragmented. Candidates were often forced to rely on dense academic papers (like the Amazon Dynamo or Google File System papers) or generic blog posts that skipped the crucial "why" behind architectural decisions.

Many engineers treat System Design as a daunting topic to be postponed, but Gaurav Sen transforms it into an approachable subject.

Every architectural decision involves a compromise. Sen teaches engineers to view system design through the lens of the (Consistency, Availability, Partition Tolerance) and performance trade-offs:

Defining functional (what it does) and non-functional (availability, latency, scale) requirements.

Another highly recommended resource for system design concepts.