System Design: Geo-Distributed Rate Limiter
Design a robust, geo-distributed rate limiting system capable of operating across multiple geographic regions (e.g., US-East, EU-West, AP-South).
Core Requirements:
- Granular Limiting: The system must enforce rate limits based on various criteria, including per-API-key (e.g., 100 requests per second), and potentially additional dimensions like per-IP address or per-endpoint.
- Global Enforcement: Limits must be respected globally. A client's request count should not be multiplied by the number of regions it might hit; the total global usage must adhere to the single defined limit.
- Low Latency: The rate limiting check must introduce minimal latency into the request path.
- Fault Tolerance: The system should be resilient to individual region failures without compromising the global rate limiting functionality.
Follow-up: Worker System Scheduling Strategies
Consider a worker system that processes tasks, where each task is subject to the designed rate limiter. Evaluate the following two scheduling strategies:
- Cost-Prioritization: Prioritize executing tasks with the largest associated cost or weight first.
- Throughput-Maximization: Prioritize executing as many tasks as possible to maximize overall throughput.
For each strategy, explain its advantages and disadvantages, and describe the scenarios or business objectives that would favor its adoption.
AI interview prep
Core dilemma
Achieving strict global consistency for rate limits while maintaining extremely low latency and high availability across geographically distributed regions, navigating the CAP theorem trade-offs.
3 tradeoffs and 2 stress tests locked
Interview prep
Unlock the interviewer X-Ray rubric, tradeoff matrix, stress tests, clarifying questions, and key concepts.
System Design: Geo-Distributed Rate Limiter
Design a robust, geo-distributed rate limiting system capable of operating across multiple geographic regions (e.g., US-East, EU-West, AP-South).
Core Requirements:
- Granular Limiting: The system must enforce rate limits based on various criteria, including per-API-key (e.g., 100 requests per second), and potentially additional dimensions like per-IP address or per-endpoint.
- Global Enforcement: Limits must be respected globally. A client's request count should not be multiplied by the number of regions it might hit; the total global usage must adhere to the single defined limit.
- Low Latency: The rate limiting check must introduce minimal latency into the request path.
- Fault Tolerance: The system should be resilient to individual region failures without compromising the global rate limiting functionality.
Follow-up: Worker System Scheduling Strategies
Consider a worker system that processes tasks, where each task is subject to the designed rate limiter. Evaluate the following two scheduling strategies:
- Cost-Prioritization: Prioritize executing tasks with the largest associated cost or weight first.
- Throughput-Maximization: Prioritize executing as many tasks as possible to maximize overall throughput.
For each strategy, explain its advantages and disadvantages, and describe the scenarios or business objectives that would favor its adoption.