Learning track · Roadmap
Applied Systems Design — Learning Track (Part 5, the capstone)
Published
Your map for Part 5, the finale. Parts 1–4 built the theory; this part applies all of it to design real systems end to end.
- Mission: turn four parts of theory into design judgment.
- Format: design case studies with architecture diagrams. Delivered as a lean EPUB for Kindle (glossary in the
.md, out of the book) plus markdown source here. - Level: the capstone — assumes Parts 1–4.
Where you are now
| Status | All 9 lessons built ✅ — read as one comprehensive page · series complete 🎉 |
| Read it | book-5-applied-systems-design-fundamentals.epub (send to Kindle) · or applied-systems-design-fundamentals.md |
| How to work it | Read in order; do each self-check from memory before peeking |
| Deep dive | consistent-hashing-deep-dive.epub — a go-deeper supplement to Lessons 6 & 8 (why mod-N fails · vnodes · bounded loads · rendezvous & jump hashing) |
The 9-lesson path
| # | Lesson | The single win | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Systems Design Method | The repeatable five-step framework | ✅ Built |
| 2 | Back-of-the-Envelope Estimation | Turn users into QPS, storage, bandwidth | ✅ Built |
| 3 | Design a URL Shortener | Thin write path, hot cached read path | ✅ Built |
| 4 | Design a Rate Limiter | Token bucket + an atomic counter | ✅ Built |
| 5 | Design a News Feed | Fan-out on write vs on read | ✅ Built |
| 6 | Design a Distributed Cache | Cache-aside + consistent hashing | ✅ Built |
| 7 | Design a Message Queue | Partitioned log + replication | ✅ Built |
| 8 | Design a Key-Value Store | The ring + quorums + LSM | ✅ Built |
| 9 | Putting It All Together | The universal design checklist | ✅ Built |
How every lesson is built: prose → an architecture diagram → a self-check → an expert corner.
Progress checklist
- Lesson 1 — The Systems Design Method
- Lesson 2 — Back-of-the-Envelope Estimation
- Lesson 3 — Design a URL Shortener
- Lesson 4 — Design a Rate Limiter
- Lesson 5 — Design a News Feed
- Lesson 6 — Design a Distributed Cache
- Lesson 7 — Design a Message Queue
- Lesson 8 — Design a Key-Value Store
- Lesson 9 — Putting It All Together
Tick each box as you finish its self-check.
Files in this folder
README.md ← index + roadmap + tracker
applied-systems-design-fundamentals.md ← full source (includes the glossary)
book-5-applied-systems-design-fundamentals.epub ← lean Kindle build (glossary excluded)
diagrams/
00-cover.svg / .png ← series cover (Part 5)
01-design-method.svg / .png ← Lesson 1
02-estimation.svg / .png ← Lesson 2
03-url-shortener.svg / .png ← Lesson 3
04-rate-limiter.svg / .png ← Lesson 4
05-news-feed.svg / .png ← Lesson 5
06-distributed-cache.svg / .png ← Lesson 6
07-message-queue.svg / .png ← Lesson 7
08-kv-store.svg / .png ← Lesson 8
09-design-checklist.svg / .png ← Lesson 9This is the final part
The five-part series is complete. See ../backend-mastery-series.md for the whole arc.