Introduction
This guide provides a structured learning path for system design interviews, organized by difficulty level, technology categories, and real-world system examples. Use this as your roadmap to master system design concepts.
Learning Path
Level 1: Fundamentals (Beginner)
Goal: Understand basic system design concepts and terminology.
Core Concepts
Basic System Designs
- Design a URL Shortener
- Design a Parking Lot System
- Design an ATM Machine / Banking System
- Design a Library Management System
- Design a Ticket Booking System
- Design a Basic Online Shopping Cart
- Design a File System or In-Memory Storage
- Design a Text Editor
- Design a Social Media Feed (Local / Single-User)
- Design a Simple Chat Application
Local System Components
- Design a Thread Pool
- Design a Task Scheduler (Single Machine)
- Design a Memory Allocator
- Design a Connection Pool
- Design a Producer-Consumer Queue
- Design a Circular Buffer
- Design a Local Logger
Level 2: Intermediate Systems
Goal: Design distributed systems with scalability and reliability.
Distributed Storage & Databases
- Design a Key-Value Store (Local & Horizontal)
- Design Blob Storage Like S3
- Design a File Storage Sync System
- Design a Configuration Service with LRU Cache
Messaging & Real-Time Systems
- Design a Chat System
- Design a Pub/Sub System
- Design a Notification/Push Service
- Design a Real-Time Game Leaderboard
Search & Analytics
- Design a Search Autocomplete System
- Design a Web Crawler
- Design a Distributed Web Crawler
- Design a Top-K Heavy Hitter
Social & Media
Level 3: Advanced Systems
Goal: Design complex, large-scale distributed systems.
Large-Scale Platforms
- System Design: Twitter (Timeline, Fanout, Search, Trends)
- Design YouTube
- System Design: YouTube (Upload, Transcode, CDN, Recommendations)
- Design Netflix
- Design a Social Media Feed (Twitter)
- Design Facebook Live Streaming
E-Commerce & Marketplace
- Design a Hotel Reservation System
- Design an Auction System
- Design Ticketmaster
- Design a Proximity Service (Yelp)
- Design a Price Drop Tracker
- Design CamelCamelCamel Price Tracker
Gaming & Entertainment
- Design Roblox
- Design Roblox Studio
- Design an In-Memory Gaming Platform (Matchmaking)
- Design a Matchmaking Service for Multiplayer Games
- Design a Resource Loader in a Game Engine
- Design a Chess Game (Undo/ELO)
Financial Systems
- System Design: Robinhood-Style Retail Trading Platform
- Design a Delayed Payment Scheduler Service
- Design a Ride-Sharing Service (Uber)
Collaboration & Productivity
- System Design: GitHub (Repos, Git Storage, PRs, CI)
- Design a To-Do List App with Multi-User Collaboration
AI & ML Systems
Specialized Systems
- Design a Distributed Job Scheduler
- Design a Distributed Logging System
- System Design: Metrics & Logging Pipeline
- Design a Change Data Capture (CDC) System
- Design QuickSet UEI (IoT/Smart Home)
AR/Glass Systems
- System Design: Meta Glass (Smart Glasses Platform)
- Design a Smart Glass System: Voice-Controlled Memory Video Creation
- Design Glass System
Embedded & Local Systems
- Design a Local OS Framework System
- Design a JNI Bridge
- Design Client-Side Embedded Report Events
- Design Embedded Report Event System
- Design NDK System for Merging Multiple .so Libraries
- Design an Embedded Local Redis Cache
Technology Tree
Core Technologies by Category
Databases
Relational Databases:
NoSQL Databases:
- MongoDB Comprehensive Guide
- Amazon DynamoDB Comprehensive Guide
- Apache Cassandra Comprehensive Guide
- Apache HBase Comprehensive Guide
Specialized Databases:
- TimescaleDB Comprehensive Guide
- InfluxDB Comprehensive Guide
- Neo4j Comprehensive Guide
- Apache Druid Comprehensive Guide
- ClickHouse Comprehensive Guide
- Apache Pinot Comprehensive Guide
- Apache Phoenix Comprehensive Guide
Data Warehouses:
Caching & In-Memory
Message Queues & Streaming
Message Queues:
Streaming:
- Apache Kafka Guide
- Apache Flink Guide
- Apache Pulsar Comprehensive Guide
- Apache Storm Comprehensive Guide
- Apache Samza Comprehensive Guide
- Apache Beam Comprehensive Guide
Cloud Storage
Search & Analytics
Coordination & Consensus
APIs & Communication
- GraphQL Comprehensive Guide
- gRPC Comprehensive Guide
- WebSocket Comprehensive Guide
- Apache Thrift Comprehensive Guide
Infrastructure & DevOps
Containerization:
Infrastructure as Code:
Load Balancing:
Workflow Orchestration:
Data Integration:
Monitoring & Observability
Data Formats
Theory & Concepts
Sample System Designs by Category
Social Media & Feed Systems
- Twitter-Style Platform
- Instagram-Style Platform
- Facebook-Style Platform
Video & Media Platforms
- YouTube-Style Platform
- Netflix-Style Platform
E-Commerce & Marketplace
- Reservation Systems
- Marketplace Systems
- Price Tracking
Messaging & Communication
- Chat Systems
- Pub/Sub Systems
- Notification Systems
Storage & File Systems
- Object Storage
- Version Control
Search & Discovery
- Search Systems
- Analytics
Gaming & Entertainment
- Gaming Platforms
- Game Systems
Financial Systems
- Trading Platforms
- Payment Systems
- Ride-Sharing
AI & ML Systems
- LLM Services
- Translation Services
Infrastructure & Operations
- Scheduling
- Logging & Monitoring
- Data Engineering
AR/Glass Systems
- Smart Glasses
IoT & Embedded Systems
- IoT Systems
- Embedded Systems
Architecture Patterns & Guides
Cloud-Native Architecture
Embedded Systems Architecture
Domain-Specific Patterns
Interview Preparation
- Senior System Design Common Questions
- System Design LeetCode Practice
- Distributed System Design vs Product System Design
- System Design Technologies Trade-offs
- Kubernetes System Design Scenarios
How to Use This Guide
For Beginners
- Start with Level 1: Fundamentals
- Read the System Design Interview Framework
- Practice basic system designs
- Learn core technologies (Redis, PostgreSQL, Kafka)
For Intermediate Learners
- Complete Level 2: Intermediate Systems
- Focus on distributed systems concepts
- Study technology guides for your chosen stack
- Practice designing systems from scratch
For Advanced Learners
- Master Level 3: Advanced Systems
- Study large-scale platform designs
- Deep dive into specialized technologies
- Practice complex, multi-component systems
Interview Preparation
- Review sample designs in your target category
- Study relevant technology guides
- Practice explaining trade-offs
- Time yourself on full system designs
Quick Reference
Most Common Interview Questions
- Design Twitter/X
- Design YouTube
- Design a URL Shortener
- Design a Chat System
- Design Instagram
- Design Netflix
- Design Uber
- Design a Rate Limiter
Essential Technologies to Know
- Databases: PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis, Cassandra
- Caching: Redis, Memcached
- Message Queues: Kafka, RabbitMQ, SQS
- Storage: S3, CDN
- Load Balancing: NGINX, Load Balancer
- Containerization: Docker, Kubernetes
Key Concepts
- CAP Theorem
- ACID vs BASE
- Sharding & Partitioning
- Replication & Consistency
- Caching Strategies
- Load Balancing Algorithms
- Message Queue Patterns
Summary
This learning path provides a structured approach to mastering system design:
- Start with Fundamentals: Learn basic concepts and simple systems
- Progress to Intermediate: Build distributed systems knowledge
- Master Advanced Topics: Design large-scale, complex systems
- Study Technologies: Deep dive into tools and frameworks
- Practice Regularly: Design systems from scratch
Use this guide as your roadmap, and refer back to specific posts as you progress through your system design journey.