Domain Deep Dives

Backend & Cloud

Distributed systems, databases, caching, APIs, microservices everything for backend interviews

Distributed Systems

#	Question	Level
1	How would you ensure exactly-once message processing in a distributed queue?	SDE 3
2	Explain the CAP theorem with a real-world example. When would you choose AP over CP?	SDE 2
3	How do you design a system to handle 100K writes/sec with strong consistency?	SDE 3-4
4	What happens when a network partition occurs in a Kafka cluster?	SDE 3

Databases

#	Question	Level
5	When would you choose a document store over a relational DB?	SDE 2
6	Explain database sharding strategies and their trade-offs.	SDE 3
7	How do you handle schema migrations on a database with 99.99% uptime SLA?	SDE 3

Caching

#	Question	Level
8	Explain cache invalidation strategies. When does each fail?	SDE 2-3
9	Design a multi-layer caching strategy for a high-traffic e-commerce site.	SDE 3

API Design & Microservices

#	Question	Level
10	How do you design a REST API that supports backward compatibility?	SDE 2
11	Explain rate limiting algorithms and when to use each.	SDE 2-3
12	Compare Kafka vs RabbitMQ vs SQS. When would you pick each?	SDE 2-3
13	How do you implement the Saga pattern for distributed transactions?	SDE 3
14	How do you handle service discovery and load balancing?	SDE 2-3
15	Describe the circuit breaker pattern. Implement the state machine.	SDE 2