The Complete Syllabus for Learning Software System Design

Software system design is a vast topic. It can get difficult to navigate through this subject as there are not many helpful resources online to study this topic. That being said, it is important to familiarize yourself with the topics that fall under System Design. In this post, we have tried to consolidate all topics of System Design under one post. This syllabus is divided into three sections – Beginner, Intermediate & Advanced. This will help you to learn the subject step by step.

Syllabus for Learning Software System Design

Beginner’s Syllabus for System Design

1. Introduction to System Design
   • What is system design?
   • Importance of system design
   • Basic principles and objectives
2. Basics of Scalability
   • Definition of scalability
   • Horizontal vs. vertical scaling
   • Techniques for achieving scalability
3. Understanding Reliability
   • Definition of reliability
   • Importance of reliability in system design
   • Techniques for ensuring reliability
4. Key Concepts: Latency, Throughput, Availability
   • Definitions and significance of latency, throughput, and availability
   • How these concepts affect system design decisions
5. Client-Server Architecture
   • Overview of client-server architecture
   • Different types of clients and servers
   • Communication protocols (e.g., HTTP, TCP/IP)
6. Introduction to Databases
   • Basics of relational and non-relational databases
   • Data modelling concepts
   • ACID properties and CAP theorem
7. Caching Basics
   • What is caching?
   • Importance of caching in improving performance
   • Caching strategies and techniques
8. Load Balancing Fundamentals
   • What is load balancing?
   • Importance of load balancing in distributed systems
   • Different load-balancing algorithms
9. Basic Security Measures
   • Overview of security threats
   • Authentication and authorization
   • Data encryption and secure communication protocols
10. Introduction to Distributed Systems
    • Basics of distributed systems
    • Challenges in building distributed systems
    • Overview of distributed system architectures

Intermediate Topics for System Design

1. Advanced Database Concepts
   • Indexing and query optimization
   • Partitioning and sharding
   • Replication and consistency models
2. High Availability and Fault Tolerance
   • Redundancy and fault tolerance strategies
   • Disaster recovery planning
   • Handling failures gracefully
3. Advanced Caching Techniques
   • Distributed caching systems
   • Cache invalidation strategies
   • Cache coherence and consistency
4. Distributed Systems Design Patterns
   • Patterns for scalability, reliability, and performance
   • Event sourcing and CQRS pattern
   • Microservices architecture
5. Message Queues and Event-Driven Architecture
   • Introduction to message queues
   • Pub/Sub architecture
   • Implementing event-driven systems
6. Data Partitioning Strategies
   • Horizontal and vertical partitioning
   • Range partitioning vs. hash partitioning
   • Data locality and affinity
7. Consensus Algorithms
   • Overview of Paxos and Raft Algorithms
   • Leader election and distributed consensus
   • Practical applications of consensus algorithms
8. Content Delivery Networks (CDNs)
   • Understanding CDNs and their role in system design
   • Benefits of using CDNs for content delivery
   • CDN architecture and optimization techniques
9. Scalable Storage Solutions
   • Distributed file systems (e.g., HDFS, Amazon S3)
   • NoSQL databases (e.g., Cassandra, MongoDB)
   • Choosing the right storage solution for your application
10. Performance Monitoring and Optimization
    • Metrics for monitoring system performance
    • Profiling and performance tuning techniques
    • Continuous performance testing and optimization strategies

Advanced Topics for System Design

1. Advanced Load Balancing Techniques
   • Dynamic load balancing algorithms
   • Global server load balancing (GSLB)
   • Load balancing in cloud environments
2. Advanced Security Measures
   • Threat modelling and risk assessment
   • Security best practices for distributed systems
   • Implementing secure communication channels
3. Auto-Scaling and Elasticity
   • Auto-scaling strategies for handling varying workloads
   • Infrastructure as code (IaC) for auto-scaling
   • Leveraging cloud services for auto-scaling
4. Chaos Engineering
   • Introduction to Chaos Engineering Principles
   • Designing and conducting chaos experiments
   • Learning from failures and improving system resilience
5. Advanced Distributed Systems Architecture
   • Distributed transaction management
   • Data replication and consistency models
   • Cross-cutting concerns in distributed systems
6. Designing for Global Scale
   • Challenges and considerations for global deployments
   • Multi-region and multi-cloud architectures
   • Data sovereignty and compliance requirements
7. Advanced Topics in Microservices
   • Service mesh architectures (e.g., Istio, Linkerd)
   • Observability and distributed tracing
   • Managing complexity in microservices ecosystems
8. Containerization and Orchestration
   • Docker and Kubernetes fundamentals
   • Building and deploying containerized applications
   • Container orchestration best practices
9. Serverless Architectures
   • Introduction to serverless computing
   • Benefits and limitations of serverless architectures
   • Designing serverless applications for scalability and cost-efficiency
10. Real-World Case Studies and Best Practices
    • Analyzing real-world system design challenges
    • Best practices and lessons learned from successful implementations
    • Applying principles of system design to solve practical problems

We hope this syllabus for learning Software System Design will help you immensely. Keep visiting Meritstore for more!