top 50 system design terminologies you must know

Top 50 System Design Terminologies You Must Know

Understanding the language of system design is crucial for building robust and scalable applications. This article will guide you through 50 essential terminologies, equipping you with the vocabulary to confidently navigate the world of system design.

Fundamental Concepts

1. Scalability: The ability of a system to handle increasing workloads and user demands.
2. Availability: The percentage of time a system is operational and accessible to users.
3. Reliability: The consistency and dependability of a system to perform its intended functions.
4. Latency: The time delay between a request and its response.
5. Throughput: The rate at which a system can process requests or transactions.
6. Concurrency: The ability of a system to handle multiple requests simultaneously.
7. Consistency: The degree to which data remains accurate and synchronized across different parts of a system.
8. Fault Tolerance: The ability of a system to continue operating even if some components fail.
9. Load Balancing: Distributing incoming traffic across multiple servers to prevent overload.
10. Caching: Storing frequently accessed data in a temporary location for faster retrieval.

Architectural Patterns

11. Microservices: Breaking down a large application into smaller, independent services.
12. Monolithic Architecture: A single, tightly coupled application with all components bundled together.
13. Layered Architecture: Organizing components into distinct layers, such as presentation, business logic, and data access.
14. Event-Driven Architecture: Using events to trigger actions and communicate between components.
15. Message Queue: A temporary storage mechanism for messages exchanged between components.
16. API Gateway: A central point of entry for external requests to a system.
17. Service Mesh: A network of infrastructure components that manage communication between services.

Data Storage and Management

18. Database: A structured collection of data organized for efficient storage and retrieval.
19. Relational Database: A database that stores data in tables with relationships between them.
20. NoSQL Database: A database that does not follow the relational model, offering flexibility and scalability.
21. Data Consistency: Ensuring data integrity and accuracy across different copies or replicas.
22. Data Replication: Creating copies of data on multiple servers for redundancy and availability.
23. Data Partitioning: Dividing data into smaller chunks for easier management and scalability.
24. Data Sharding: Distributing data across multiple servers based on a specific key.
25. Data Backup: Creating copies of data for disaster recovery and data protection.

Networking and Communication

26. TCP/IP: A suite of protocols that govern communication over the internet.
27. HTTP: A protocol for transferring data over the web.
28. DNS: A system for translating domain names into IP addresses.
29. Load Balancer: A device that distributes incoming traffic across multiple servers.
30. Firewall: A security system that blocks unauthorized access to a network.
31. VPN: A secure connection over a public network, encrypting data for privacy.

Security and Authentication

32. Authentication: Verifying the identity of a user or system.
33. Authorization: Granting access to specific resources based on user permissions.
34. Encryption: Transforming data into an unreadable format to protect it from unauthorized access.
35. SSL/TLS: Protocols that provide secure communication over the internet.
36. OAuth: An open standard for delegated authorization.
37. JWT: A standard for securely transmitting information between parties as JSON objects.

Performance Optimization

38. Caching: Storing frequently accessed data in a temporary location for faster retrieval.
39. Compression: Reducing the size of data to improve transmission speed.
40. Asynchronous Processing: Handling requests without blocking the main thread, improving responsiveness.
41. Code Optimization: Improving the efficiency of code to reduce execution time.
42. Database Optimization: Tuning database settings and queries for better performance.

DevOps and Monitoring

43. CI/CD: Continuous integration and continuous delivery, automating the software development process.
44. Monitoring: Tracking system performance and identifying potential issues.
45. Logging: Recording system events for troubleshooting and analysis.
46. Alerting: Notifying users of critical events or system failures.
47. Infrastructure as Code: Managing infrastructure using code for automation and consistency.

Cloud Computing

48. Cloud Provider: A company that provides cloud computing services.
49. IaaS: Infrastructure as a Service, providing access to virtualized computing resources.
50. PaaS: Platform as a Service, offering a platform for developing and deploying applications.