Real-World Examples

System Design Examples

Learn from real-world architecture patterns used by top tech companies. Each example covers key concepts, trade-offs, and scalability considerations.

URL Shortener
Beginner
Design a scalable URL shortening service like bit.ly or TinyURL

Key Topics:

Hashing algorithmsDatabase designCachingScalability

What You'll Learn:

Learn base62 encoding, distributed ID generation, and cache-aside patterns

Start Practice
Twitter Feed
Intermediate
Design a social media timeline that handles millions of users

Key Topics:

Fan-out architectureFeed generationCachingReal-time updates

What You'll Learn:

Push vs pull models, Redis for timeline caching, and handling celebrity users

Coming soon...
Instagram Photo Sharing
Intermediate
Build a photo sharing platform with upload, storage, and feed

Key Topics:

CDNObject storageImage processingFeed ranking

What You'll Learn:

S3 for storage, CloudFront CDN, image optimization, and ML ranking

Coming soon...
Netflix Video Streaming
Advanced
Design a video streaming service that serves millions globally

Key Topics:

Adaptive bitrateCDN strategyContent deliveryDRM

What You'll Learn:

HLS/DASH protocols, edge caching, regional replication, bandwidth optimization

Coming soon...
Uber Ride Matching
Advanced
Real-time ride matching system with geo-location

Key Topics:

Geo-hashingWebSocketsReal-time matchingSurge pricing

What You'll Learn:

QuadTrees for location, WebSocket connections, pub-sub for real-time updates

Coming soon...
WhatsApp Messaging
Advanced
End-to-end encrypted messaging system at scale

Key Topics:

Message queuesEncryptionPresence systemGroup chats

What You'll Learn:

Kafka for message delivery, Signal protocol, last-seen tracking

Coming soon...
Amazon Product Catalog
Intermediate
E-commerce catalog with search, filtering, and inventory

Key Topics:

Search indexingInventory managementCachingSharding

What You'll Learn:

Elasticsearch for search, Redis for inventory, database sharding strategies

Coming soon...
YouTube Video Upload
Advanced
Handle video uploads, transcoding, and storage

Key Topics:

Upload optimizationVideo transcodingCDNStorage

What You'll Learn:

Chunked uploads, FFmpeg transcoding pipeline, S3 + CloudFront architecture

Coming soon...
Slack Messaging Platform
Intermediate
Team communication with channels, threads, and search

Key Topics:

WebSocketsMessage persistenceSearchNotifications

What You'll Learn:

Real-time messaging, Elasticsearch for search, push notifications

Coming soon...
Dropbox File Sync
Advanced
File synchronization across devices with conflict resolution

Key Topics:

ChunkingDelta syncConflict resolutionVersioning

What You'll Learn:

Block-level deduplication, Merkle trees, CRDT for conflict resolution

Coming soon...

Ready to Practice?

Start with our interactive URL Shortener tutorial and work your way through real-world system design challenges.

Start with URL ShortenerView All Practice Problems