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Shorten URL: Users can submit long URLs, and the system should generate a shorter alias (e.g., abc123) that redirects to the original URL.
Redirection: When someone visits the shortened URL, they are redirected to the original URL.
Expiration (Optional): URLs can expire after a certain time or number of uses.
High Availability: The service should be available 24/7.
Low Latency: Redirection should be quick (minimal delay).
Scalability: The service should handle millions of URL redirects per day.
Reliability: Shortened URLs must reliably redirect to the correct destination.
Security: Prevent malicious users from creating harmful shortened links (phishing, etc.).
Data Storage Efficiency: URLs should be stored efficiently, as millions or billions of shortened URLs might exist.
The service should handle millions of URL redirects per day.
URL Shortening API: Accepts a long URL and returns a shortened URL. This can be an HTTP POST request.
Redirection API: When the shortened URL is accessed, it performs a lookup and redirects to the long URL.
URL Store: Maps shortened URLs (aliases) to long URLs.
Hit Counter (Optional): Tracks the number of times a URL has been accessed.
User Data (Optional): If the service requires user logins, store user information and their created URLs.
User Input: The user submits a long URL via a web/mobile app or directly through an API.
URL Shortening API:
Receives the long URL.
Optionally checks if the URL is valid and not malicious.
Generates a unique short alias using a random string generator (e.g., abc123).
Database Store:
Stores the long URL and its associated alias (abc123 → http://www.longurl.com/example).
Optionally stores metadata such as creation date, expiry date, and hit count.
Redirection API:
When the user visits short.ly/abc123, the redirection service looks up the long URL in the database.
Redirects the user to the original URL.
Analytics Tracking (Optional):
If analytics are enabled, increment the hit counter.
Optionally log additional data like timestamp, IP, user agent, etc
User Input: The user submits a long URL via a web/mobile app or directly through an API.
URL Shortening API:
Receives the long URL.
Optionally checks if the URL is valid and not malicious.
Generates a unique short alias using a random string generator (e.g., abc123).
Database Store:
Stores the long URL and its associated alias (abc123 → http://www.longurl.com/example).
Optionally stores metadata such as creation date, expiry date, and hit count.
Redirection API:
When the user visits short.ly/abc123, the redirection service looks up the long URL in the database.
Redirects the user to the original URL.
Base62 Encoding: Use Base62 (a-z, A-Z, 0-9) to encode an integer ID to generate short URLs. This method ensures that the shortened URL is as short as possible while supporting a large number of possible combinations.
a. Frontend (Optional for a UI)
React.js for web interface
Native iOS/Android for mobile apps
b. Backend
Languages: Python (Flask/Django), Node.js (Express), or Go for the core API.
Database:
SQL: PostgreSQL/MySQL for relational storage.
NoSQL: MongoDB/Redis for faster lookups and scalability.
Caching: Redis or Memcached for high-speed URL lookups.
Load Balancer: Nginx/HAProxy for traffic distribution.
c. Deployment
Cloud Providers: AWS, Google Cloud, or Azure for hosting.
CI/CD Pipeline: Jenkins or GitHub Actions for automated deployment
Database Replication: Ensure that the database has multiple replicas to avoid data loss.
Failover Systems: Implement failover mechanisms to redirect traffic to a secondary server in case of failures.
Data Backup: Regularly back up the URL database to prevent data loss.
What are some future improvements you would make? How would you mitigate the failure scenario(s) you described above?