MyMapURL Shortener System Design
A system architecture diagram for a URL shortener service with load balancer, API service, Redis cache, Postgres storage, CDN, and analytics pipeline.
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“Design a URL shortener system architecture”
About the framework
Designing a URL Shortener at Scale
This template implements the classic system design interview question as a production architecture diagram. The design handles 100M+ daily redirects with sub-50ms latency by separating the write path (create short URL) from the read path (redirect), which is the key insight for this system.
The architecture follows a layered approach: CDN and cache handle 95%+ of redirect requests without hitting the database. The Snowflake-style ID generator produces globally unique, Base62-encoded short codes without coordination between API servers. Kafka decouples the hot path (redirect) from analytics processing, so click tracking never slows down the user experience.
This is a common system design interview topic at FAANG companies. Ask the AI to add rate limiting details, explore the Base62 encoding algorithm, add a database sharding strategy, or extend with custom domain support.
What's included
What you get
- Full architecture: client, load balancer, API, cache, DB, CDN
- Storage layer: Redis for hot URLs, Postgres for URL map
- ID generation with Snowflake/Base62 encoding
- Analytics pipeline with Kafka event streaming
- Performance targets: 100M redirects/day, p99 <50ms
URL Shortener System Design
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Frequently asked questions
Common questions
Can I use this for system design interview prep?
Yes. This covers the core components interviewers expect. Ask the AI to 'Add capacity estimation: QPS calculations for 100M daily redirects' or 'Show the database schema for the URL mapping table.'
How do I add more detail to specific components?
Ask the AI to 'Expand the cache layer to show cache invalidation strategy and TTL policies' or 'Detail the Kafka consumer pipeline for analytics aggregation.'
Can I adapt this for a different system design problem?
Yes. Tell the AI 'Convert this to a paste-bin system design' or 'Design a rate limiter architecture using a similar layout.' The architectural patterns (cache + DB + queue) transfer across many systems.
URL Shortener System Design
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