A Simple Guide to Distributed Systems: How the Internet Works

Dive into the captivating world of distributed systems in this episode of “The Technical Interview.” Ever wondered how your favorite websites and apps manage to be so fast, reliable, and always available, no matter where you are in the world? From streaming your favorite movies to keeping social networks buzzing, distributed systems are the unsung heroes behind the scenes. Join us as we simplify this complex topic, comparing these systems to orchestras, cities expanding, and even resilient ships to help you understand how they work and why they’re so important. Whether you’re prepping for a tech interview or just curious about the technology shaping our digital lives, this episode will give you a fresh perspective on the invisible networks that power our online world. Explore the essence, challenges, and real-world examples of distributed systems, and get a clear explanation of the CAP Theorem—all in language that’s easy to understand. Get ready to unveil the magic behind your screen!

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 Welcome to the technical interview. Today we are exploring the exciting world of distributed systems. These systems are the hidden and powerhouses behind everything online from your social media feeds to how you play your online games, but what are the Serbia that system’s really? Let’s dive deeper.

 Let’s imagine a complicated machine, lots of gears working together perfectly.  That’s what this distributed, that systems are like. They are groups of computers, which are called notes. That work together to do a big job. That would be too big for just one computer.

Think about an orchestra. Each musician plays their own instrument, creating their own sound. But when they all play together, they make a beautiful music in distributed systems. Each computer might do its own task or hold different pieces of information. But together they can do things like stream videos, handle online payments. Or let people chat with each other in ways single computers just can’t do.

The real power of distributed systems. Is the strength in unity.  Every computer in the system shares a strength, whether that’s processing power, storage or information. This team work. Let’s the system handle huge amount of data and support lots of users at the same time and do real  complex jobs. For example, it’s how a search engine can sift through billions of pages of data in no time or a social network manages  endless flow of posts and comments.

Unlike systems that keep everything in one place, the distributed that systems can spread out across many places. They might be across different buildings, cities, or even countries linked by the internet or special network. This set up, makes the system more reliable and faster for users everywhere. 

However handling a distributed system can be tricky. Keeping information consistent across systems, dealing with the parts that might get disconnected or break,  making sure that the system keeps running, even when something goes wrong are big challenges.  But clever strategies to use, to deal with these issues like duplicating data, reaching agreements across the systems and dividing task can help everything keep going.

   Let’s talk about some core concepts in distributed systems.

There are tree core concepts to keep in mind, scalability, fault tolerance and consistency.

Firstly scalability. Think about the city getting bigger as more people move in. That’s all a scalability works in distributed systems.  It means making the system  more powerful to handle more work like more users or data without it losing speed.

Second is fault tolerance. Imagine a ship designed to stay floating even if it gets damaged. That’s the idea behind fault tolerance. It means the system can keep going even if some parts of it fail. Fault tolerance can be increased by having backups and rerouting tasks.

And lastly consistency. Visiting your favorite coffee shop, you can expect the same good experience every time, no matter the location. That’s what consistency in distributed system is all about. It makes sure everyone gets the same information, no matter where they access the system from, which is especially important for things happening in real time. 

 Let’s talk about one of the most important concepts in distributed systems next, the CAP Theorem. 

 When did we talk about distributed systems we often mention CAP Theorem.  It’s like trying to balance with only two legs off a stool. You can choose only two: consistency, availability and fault tolerance. You can only choose only two of these three. Depending on what the system needs to do designers have to decide which two aspects are most important to them.

 At the end. I will leave you with an example of distributed systems inaction. Let’s look at some examples. Google search engine is an amazing distributed system it can quickly find what you’re looking for among billions of pages. And another one, Netflix uses distributed systems to stream shows and movies to people all around the world, keeping the videos, high quality and buffering law.

Distributed systems are amazing and an interesting topic to look into.

 Thanks for listening to this episode of the technical interview. Please share this podcast to other people who aren’t getting prepared for their interviews, or would like to learn more about various technology topics. I appreciate your feedback and your support. 

Thank you. Till Next Time.