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23 guides~2.4 hrs totalupdated Oct 20, 2026

Designing AI-Native Applications: The Architecture Series

AI-native applications break classic architecture instincts. This 8-part series maps the decisions that matter: context, memory, orchestration, governance.

3 min

Software Architecture

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Intermediate6 minConsistent Hashing Explained: Add a Server Without Moving Everything (2026) Consistent hashing explained for system design interviews: the hash ring, virtual nodes, a measured simulation (10% of keys move vs 91%), replicas, and its limits.Intermediate8 minDatabase Sharding and Replication Explained: Copy for Reads, Split for Writes (2026) Database sharding and replication explained for system design interviews: copies vs splits, sync vs async, shard keys, hot spots, resharding, and when not to shard.Intermediate11 minDesign a URL Shortener: Where Every Decision Comes From the Read Path (2026) Design a URL shortener for a system design interview: requirements, base62 short codes, caching a 100:1 read path, 301 vs 302 and abuse checks.Beginner8 minBack-of-Envelope Estimation for System Design Interviews: The Maths in 30 Seconds (2026) Updated 20 OctBack-of-envelope estimation for system design interviews: five numbers, four formulas, 2026 latency figures and how to size an AI feature in under a minute.Intermediate8 minSystem Design Interview Framework: Six Steps for the 45-Minute Round (2026) A system design interview framework for 2026: six steps, a time box for each in the 45-minute round, and what the interviewer scores at each step.Intermediate11 minLLM System Design Interview: The Five-Layer Answer (2026) Corrected 16 OctLLM system design interview prep: a five-layer answer framework, one running example, and weak vs strong answers for serving, scaling, caching, and cost.Beginner5 minCDNs and Object Storage: Store at the Origin, Serve at the Edge (2026) CDNs and object storage explained in 2026 — object storage as the origin for large files, CDNs as the edge cache near users, how they work together, and what they store in AI systems.Beginner5 minRate Limiting Explained: Token Bucket, Leaky Bucket, and When Each Wins (2026) Rate limiting explained in 2026 — fixed window, sliding window, token bucket, and leaky bucket, which algorithm to default to, and why LLM traffic is limited by tokens rather than requests.Beginner5 minHorizontal vs Vertical Scaling: Scale Up Until You Can’t (2026) Horizontal vs vertical scaling in 2026 — scale up (a bigger box) versus scale out (more boxes), the hardware ceiling, why horizontal needs statelessness, and the diagonal middle ground.Beginner5 minCAP Theorem Explained: It Was Never ‘Pick Two’ (2026) CAP theorem explained in 2026 — why 'pick two of three' is wrong, the real consistency-vs-availability choice during a partition, PACELC, and what it means for AI systems.Beginner5 minEvent-Driven Architecture: Trading Control for Decoupling (2026) Event-driven architecture explained in 2026 — events vs commands, choreography vs orchestration, and the real trade-off: you gain decoupling and lose the single view of what happens next.Beginner4 minAPI Gateway Explained: It’s Not a Load Balancer (2026) API gateway explained in 2026 — what it actually does (auth, rate limiting, routing, aggregation), why it's not a load balancer, and where the new AI gateway fits.Beginner5 minSQL vs NoSQL: It’s About Access Patterns, Not Scale (2026) SQL vs NoSQL in 2026 — why the real choice is about access patterns and correctness, not scale; the four NoSQL types; and why most systems end up using both.Beginner5 minLoad Balancers Explained: Health Checks Do the Real Work (2026) Load balancers explained in 2026 — L4 vs L7, the algorithms, and why health checks (not even distribution) are the part that actually keeps you online.Beginner6 minSystem Design Building Blocks: A Decision Map, Not a Parts List (2026) System design building blocks explained as a decision map — the five questions that pick your components (architecture style, cache, message broker, database, load balancer) and how each block earns its place.Beginner7 minCaching Strategies: Why Invalidation Is the Hard Part (2026) Caching strategies in 2026 — the patterns (cache-aside, write-through, write-behind), eviction policies, and why cache invalidation, not adding a cache, is the genuinely hard part.Beginner7 minKafka vs RabbitMQ: A Log vs a Queue, Not Fast vs Slow (2026) Kafka vs RabbitMQ in 2026 — why it's a log versus a queue (not fast versus slow), the differences that matter, and when each one (or both) is the right call.Beginner7 minMonolith vs Microservices: It’s About Team Size, Not Traffic (2026) Monolith vs microservices in 2026 — the differences that matter, why team size (not traffic) decides it, and when to start with a modular monolith.Intermediate5 minAI Engineer Interview Questions (2026): RAG & Agents A 2026 playbook of AI engineer interview questions by round: RAG, agents, LLM system design, and evals, with what each really tests and how to answer.Intermediate5 minAgent Orchestration Patterns: A 2026 Guide Agent orchestration patterns: supervisor, hierarchical, sequential, parallel, swarm — which wins in 2026, what it costs, and when one agent is enough.Intermediate6 minAI Agents vs Microservices: An Architect’s Guide (2026) AI agents vs microservices: the six differences that matter — determinism, state, contracts, retries, testing, cost — and when an agent is the wrong tool.Intermediate6 minHow to Crack a Google Interview in India (2026 Guide) A step-by-step 2026 guide to cracking a Google interview in India — the real rounds, DSA and system design prep, Googliness, and a week-by-week plan.

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