How to Scale a System from 0 to 10M+ Users
4 days ago
- #scaling
- #architecture
- #system-design
- Scaling a system from 0 to 10 million+ users involves predictable stages, each addressing specific bottlenecks.
- Start simple with a single server (0-100 users) to validate the idea before optimizing.
- Separate the database from the application server (100-1K users) to isolate resources and improve performance.
- Introduce a load balancer and horizontal scaling (1K-10K users) to handle increased traffic and avoid single points of failure.
- Add caching, read replicas, and a CDN (10K-100K users) to reduce database load and improve response times.
- Implement auto-scaling and stateless design (100K-500K users) to handle unpredictable traffic patterns efficiently.
- Use database sharding, microservices, and message queues (500K-1M users) to manage write-heavy workloads and complex operations.
- Deploy multi-region architecture and advanced patterns like CQRS (1M-10M+ users) to ensure low latency and high availability globally.
- Beyond 10 million users, consider custom solutions and specialized data stores tailored to unique workload requirements.
- Key principles include starting simple, measuring bottlenecks, caching aggressively, and accepting trade-offs between consistency and availability.