System Design from IP to Microservices: A Developer's Cheat Sheet
If you've ever tried to wrap your head around system design, you know it's a massive topic. One minute you're deep in DNS resolution, the next you're deciding between a message queue and a direct API call. It's easy to get lost.
That's why this GitHub repo caught my eye. It's a structured, example-driven guide that walks you through system design concepts from the ground up — starting at the IP layer and going all the way to microservices patterns. No fluff, just clear explanations with real-world examples.
What It Does
This is a comprehensive yet concise system design curriculum. It covers:
- Networking fundamentals (IP, TCP, DNS, CDNs)
- Core communication protocols (HTTP, WebSockets, gRPC)
- Distributed system patterns (load balancing, caching, consistency models)
- Data storage (SQL, NoSQL, sharding, replication)
- Message queues (Kafka, RabbitMQ, SQS)
- Microservices architecture (service discovery, API gateways, circuit breakers)
Each concept is explained with a paragraph of context, a diagram (where helpful), and a real-world example — like how Netflix uses CDNs or how Uber handles real-time ride tracking.
Why It's Cool
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It's not just theory. Every concept links to a practical example. You're not just learning what a load balancer is; you're seeing how AWS's Elastic Load Balancer works in practice.
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Progressive difficulty. It starts with simple networking and builds up. You can jump to a specific topic without reading everything, but the flow makes sense if you go top to bottom.
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No fluff. The author keeps descriptions tight. Each section is maybe 5-10 bullet points or a few paragraphs. Perfect for a quick refresh before an interview or when designing a new service.
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Open source and evolving. It's a living document. You can contribute, suggest fixes, or just watch it grow.
How to Try It
No setup required. Just open the repo:
https://github.com/karanpratapsingh/system-design
The README is your starting point. It has a table of contents with direct links to each section. I'd recommend reading it in order the first time — the foundation topics really help later concepts click.
If you want to contribute, just fork it, edit the markdown files, and open a PR.
Final Thoughts
I've seen a lot of system design resources — books, courses, blog posts. Most are either too shallow or too dense. This repo strikes a rare balance. It's technical enough to be useful, but concise enough to digest in a few sittings.
If you're prepping for a senior dev interview, trying to design your first microservice, or just want a mental map of how all these pieces fit together, bookmark this repo. It's one of those resources you'll come back to again and again.
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