System Design - The Introduction
Crafting the Blueprint: An Introduction to System Design
In this article, we will initialize ourselves by understanding the reason for designing systems, what the system is, what the system design is, and more.
What is System Design?
System design is the process of defining a set of requirements to solve a specific problem by creating a software application or product that serves as the solution to that problem.
In simpler terms, when faced with a real-world problem, you need to devise a solution (e.g., software). The process of identifying and organizing the requirements for creating this solution is referred to as system design.
Example:
Before Facebook, connecting with anyone worldwide was a challenging task. This was the problem. To create the solution Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg identified key requirements: allowing users to create accounts, send messages, add friends, and more. These features were part of the system design that made Facebook a successful solution to the problem of global connectivity.
Why system design is so popular and important?
Every single “product” in the tech world is a system that has been designed to solve a real world problem. Companies are building products and need the skilled engineer who can design those products.
What do engineers do while designing a system?
Let’s take the example of designing a Food Delivery App to explain each step of the system design process:
Break Down the Problem:
The primary problem (building a food delivery app) is divided into smaller, solvable sub-problems.User onboarding and account management
Restaurant listing and search functionality
Order placement and checkout
Delivery tracking system
Payment gateway integration
Identify Key Components and Their Responsibilities:
For each sub-problem, engineers identify the core components and their roles.User Management Service: Handles user registration, login, and profile management.
Restaurant Service: Manages restaurant data, menus, and reviews.
Order Service: Processes and tracks orders.
Delivery Service: Manages delivery partner assignments and real-time location tracking.
Payment Service: Handles secure payment processing and refunds.
Define the Boundaries of Components:
Each component should work independently, ensuring loose coupling. For instance:The Restaurant Service should operate independently of the User Management Service.
If the Delivery Service faces downtime, it shouldn’t impact the functionality of placing an order.
This ensures modularity and makes the system easier to scale and maintain.
Consider Scalability and Fault Tolerance:
Engineers plan for scaling individual sub-problems to handle a larger user base and ensure high availability.Scalability: Use a load balancer for the Order Service to distribute traffic during peak hours.
Fault Tolerance: Implement database replication for the Payment Service to avoid downtime during failures.
Merge Sub-Solutions into the Final Solution:
Once the individual components are designed and implemented, they are integrated to create the complete system.
That's all for this article. In the next article, we’ll understand the approach to designing a system.