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Hashing mechanism to convert the incoming URL to a shortened one. Should be able to handle hash collisions and retry.
Database to store current URLs and their shortened versions
Tables should include - long URL to short URL
long URL vs. primary ID - this will be used to identify the URLs
Current limits of an account
Account details - tier of user and how many remaining URLs they can request.
short URL vs rate maximum / current rate.
Geographically distributed server with independent auto-scaling to handle incoming spiky loads
overarching load balancer to redirect requests to the underlying regional instances
UI that lets the user enter their URL. It should also show the preview before creation
There should be a way to monitor and revoke current/previous generated URLs as well as a way to monitor account pricing and how many URLs remain in their plan
The user should be able to see the number of requests per URL per minute
35 accesses per minute.
50,000 URLs created per month.
Not crazy traffic. Should be well within a databases standard tolerances. No sharding or distribution required.
Request to convert long URL to short URL and return - should also check it in the DB
Request to query current URLs generated
Request to query current account tier and metrics
Request to login
Request to forward request to new URL - identified by the URL format - can see when to forward a request on
Defining the system data model early on will clarify how data will flow among different components of the system. Also you could draw an ER diagram using the diagramming tool to enhance your design...
You should identify enough components that are needed to solve the actual problem from end to end. Also remember to draw a block diagram using the diagramming tool to augment your design. If you are unfamiliar with the tool, you can simply describe your design to the chat bot and ask it to generate a starter diagram for you to modify...
Explain how the request flows from end to end in your high level design. Also you could draw a sequence diagram using the diagramming tool to enhance your explanation...
Dig deeper into 2-3 components and explain in detail how they work. For example, how well does each component scale? Any relevant algorithm or data structure you like to use for a component? Also you could draw a diagram using the diagramming tool to enhance your design...
Explain any trade offs you have made and why you made certain tech choices...
Try to discuss as many failure scenarios/bottlenecks as possible.
What are some future improvements you would make? How would you mitigate the failure scenario(s) you described above?