System Design
Scalability, load balancing, caching, database scaling and CAP
This is the System Design syllabus taught for AP Exams (Advanced Placement). Each topic opens as a full chapter — theory, worked examples and the traps that paper actually uses.
Topics in System Design
- CachingA fast copy of a CampusClip mapping — hits, write paths, staleness, and where the copy sits after scale-out.
- Latency vs throughputTime for one CampusClip open versus finishes per second, and Little's Law for in-flight work.
- Load vs capacityArrivals versus what a CampusClip host can finish — excess, utilisation, and QPS × payload.
- QueuesWork the CampusClip caller is not waiting on — bursts, producer/broker/consumer, back-pressure, and when not to queue.
- CampusClip walkThe two CampusClip paths — paste and redirect — with the store, key placement, and a sketch that uses only numbers the course already stated.
- Growing past one boxHow CampusClip grows from one host to many — scale up versus out, a load balancer, CAP under a partition, and availability nines.
Practise System Design
Reading every chapter below is free and needs no account. Practice, mocks and progress live in the app.
Continue with Google — freeNo card, no trial. Works offline once installed.