# Modern System Design: 52-Week Learning Path ## Verification approach I will only include factual claims that I can verify from primary sources (official documentation, standards, RFCs, or first‑party vendor documentation). Each factual claim will carry a citation. If a claim cannot be verified, I will mark it “Not verified” during drafting and exclude it from the curriculum. For version drift, I will cite the exact page used for each resource and prefer pages that show a version or last‑updated date. If a resource does not publish a date, I will list it as “n.d.” and avoid date claims. When multiple vendors exist for a domain, I will list the major players and justify relevance using their official documentation. Any item without a verifiable, accessible source will be excluded. ## Module map (12 modules + 4 interleaved review/capstone weeks) ### Module 1 (Weeks 1–4): Performance, Latency, And Protocol Foundations Outcomes - Derive a latency budget for an HTTP API using HTTP semantics and caching terminology from RFC 9110. citeturn0search3 - Explain OAuth 2.0 roles and flows using RFC 6749 terminology. citeturn0search1 - Define metrics collection concepts using Prometheus’s overview. citeturn14view0 Core concepts - HTTP semantics and caching (RFC 9110). citeturn0search3 - OAuth 2.0 authorization framework (RFC 6749). citeturn0search1 - Metrics and time series monitoring (Prometheus overview). citeturn14view0 Hands‑on build project - Implement and benchmark a minimal HTTP API and document latency budgets and auth flows, mapping terminology to RFC 9110 and RFC 6749. citeturn0search3turn0search1 Assessment checklist - Latency budget table tied to RFC 9110 terms. citeturn0search3 - OAuth 2.0 flow diagram referencing RFC 6749 roles. citeturn0search1 - Metrics definitions aligned with Prometheus terminology. citeturn14view0 Major players and ecosystems (why relevant) - IETF RFC 9110 defines HTTP semantics used in system design. citeturn0search3 - IETF RFC 6749 defines OAuth 2.0 authorization framework used in modern auth flows. citeturn0search1 - Prometheus provides a monitoring and alerting toolkit for metrics. citeturn14view0 ### Module 2 (Weeks 5–8): Cloud Architecture And Networking Outcomes - Map architecture decisions to cloud well‑architected pillars across major hyperscalers. citeturn3search7turn2search1turn1search1 - Produce a cloud network boundary diagram aligned to well‑architected guidance. citeturn3search7turn2search1turn1search1 Core concepts - Well‑architected pillars and tradeoffs. citeturn3search7turn2search1turn1search1 - Reliability, security, performance, and cost considerations at cloud scale. citeturn3search7turn2search1turn1search1 Hands‑on build project - Create a well‑architected review checklist and apply it to a sample workload. citeturn3search7turn2search1turn1search1 Assessment checklist - Pillar‑aligned review with risks and mitigations. citeturn3search7turn2search1turn1search1 - Architecture diagram annotated with pillar tradeoffs. citeturn3search7turn2search1turn1search1 Major players and ecosystems (why relevant) - AWS Well‑Architected Framework pillars (AWS). citeturn3search7 - Azure Well‑Architected Framework pillars (Microsoft). citeturn2search1 - Google Cloud Well‑Architected Framework pillars (Google Cloud). citeturn1search1 ### Module 3 (Weeks 9–12): Distributed Systems Foundations Outcomes - Explain core distributed systems topics such as coordination, replication, and fault tolerance. citeturn22search2 - Summarize consistency and failure tradeoffs using canonical distributed systems text. citeturn22search2 Core concepts - Coordination, replication, and fault tolerance. citeturn22search2 Hands‑on build project - Write a design note comparing replication strategies for a key‑value store, using the Distributed Systems (3rd ed.) structure. citeturn22search2 Assessment checklist - Failure model and replication choice with tradeoffs. citeturn22search2 Major players and ecosystems (why relevant) - Distributed Systems (3rd ed.) provides foundational coverage of architectures, coordination, replication, and fault tolerance. citeturn22search2 ### Review/Capstone Week A (Week 13) - Review Modules 1–3 and complete a longer design kata using resources cited in Modules 1–3. citeturn0search3turn0search1turn14view0turn3search7turn2search1turn1search1turn22search2 ### Module 4 (Weeks 14–17): Data Systems Outcomes - Select storage models using a canonical data systems text and vendor docs. citeturn22search0turn5search4turn17search0turn17search1turn15search1turn18view0 - Explain tradeoffs across relational, document, wide‑column, and in‑memory systems. citeturn22search0turn5search4turn17search1turn15search1turn18view0 Core concepts - Data models and tradeoffs (DDIA). citeturn22search0 - Relational systems (PostgreSQL, MySQL). citeturn5search4turn17search0 - Document databases (MongoDB). citeturn17search1 - Wide‑column systems (Apache Cassandra). citeturn15search1 - In‑memory data structures and caching (Redis). citeturn18view0 Hands‑on build project - Design a storage layer for a multi‑tenant SaaS workload with schema and index rationale. citeturn22search0turn5search4turn17search0turn17search1turn15search1turn18view0 Assessment checklist - Storage decision matrix mapped to vendor capabilities and DDIA tradeoffs. citeturn22search0turn5search4turn17search0turn17search1turn15search1turn18view0 Major players and ecosystems (why relevant) - PostgreSQL official documentation (relational database). citeturn5search4 - MySQL 8.0 Reference Manual (relational database). citeturn17search0 - MongoDB documentation (document database). citeturn17search1 - Apache Cassandra documentation (wide‑column database). citeturn15search1 - Redis documentation (in‑memory data structures and caching). citeturn18view0 ### Module 5 (Weeks 18–21): Event Streaming And Messaging Outcomes - Design an event streaming pipeline with durability and replay. citeturn6search1turn19search4 - Compare brokered messaging and streaming systems across major projects. citeturn6search1turn19search4turn19search1turn19search2 Core concepts - Event streaming with Kafka. citeturn6search1 - Distributed messaging with Pulsar. citeturn19search4 - Brokered messaging with RabbitMQ. citeturn19search1 - Lightweight messaging and JetStream with NATS. citeturn19search2 Hands‑on build project - Implement a basic event pipeline and document retention and replay strategy. citeturn6search1turn19search4 Assessment checklist - Pipeline diagram with delivery guarantees and retention plan. citeturn6search1turn19search4 Major players and ecosystems (why relevant) - Apache Kafka documentation and quickstart (event streaming). citeturn6search1 - Apache Pulsar documentation (messaging + streaming). citeturn19search4 - RabbitMQ documentation (brokered messaging). citeturn19search1 - NATS documentation (cloud‑native messaging and JetStream). citeturn19search2 ### Module 6 (Weeks 22–25): Kubernetes And Cloud‑Native Foundations Outcomes - Describe Kubernetes objects and cluster architecture. citeturn0search4 - Explain observability signals and telemetry pipelines in cloud‑native systems. citeturn0search0turn5search3turn5search2 Core concepts - Kubernetes concepts and APIs. citeturn0search4 - Metrics, traces, and logs in cloud‑native observability. citeturn0search0turn5search3turn5search2 Hands‑on build project - Deploy a stateless service to Kubernetes and outline telemetry collection. citeturn0search4turn0search0turn5search3 Assessment checklist - Kubernetes manifests and a telemetry plan. citeturn0search4turn0search0turn5search3 Major players and ecosystems (why relevant) - Kubernetes documentation for orchestration. citeturn0search4 - Prometheus CNCF project page (metrics). citeturn4search1 - OpenTelemetry CNCF project page (telemetry standardization). citeturn4search0 - Envoy CNCF graduation announcement (service proxy/mesh ecosystem). citeturn3search0 ### Review/Capstone Week B (Week 26) - Review Modules 4–6 and complete a longer design kata using resources cited in Modules 4–6. citeturn22search0turn5search4turn17search0turn17search1turn15search1turn18view0turn6search1turn19search4turn19search1turn19search2turn0search4turn0search0turn5search3 ### Module 7 (Weeks 27–30): Observability Systems Outcomes - Design metrics, logs, and traces pipelines using OpenTelemetry and Prometheus. citeturn0search0turn5search3turn5search2turn14view0 - Compare observability vendor offerings at a high level using official docs. citeturn12search8turn10search2turn12search2turn11search1turn10search0 Core concepts - OpenTelemetry documentation and specification. citeturn0search0turn5search3 - OTLP protocol. citeturn5search2 - Prometheus monitoring overview. citeturn14view0 - Grafana visualization platform. citeturn11search1 Hands‑on build project - Instrument a service and document telemetry schema and export pipeline. citeturn0search0turn5search3turn5search2 Assessment checklist - Traces, metrics, and logs schema definitions. citeturn0search0turn5search3 - OTLP export plan. citeturn5search2 Major players and ecosystems (why relevant) - OpenTelemetry documentation (vendor‑neutral telemetry). citeturn0search0 - Prometheus overview (metrics). citeturn14view0 - Grafana documentation (visualization). citeturn11search1 - Datadog documentation (commercial observability). citeturn12search8 - New Relic documentation (commercial observability). citeturn10search2 - Splunk documentation portal (observability product docs). citeturn12search2 - Honeycomb documentation (observability). citeturn10search0 ### Module 8 (Weeks 31–34): Reliability Engineering And SRE Outcomes - Define SLOs and error budgets using SRE guidance. citeturn21search0turn21search1 - Draft incident response and postmortem artifacts. citeturn21search0turn21search1 Core concepts - SRE principles and practices. citeturn21search0 - Practical SRE methods and case studies. citeturn21search1 Hands‑on build project - Write SLOs for a sample service and create an incident postmortem template. citeturn21search0turn21search1 Assessment checklist - SLO spec and error budget policy. citeturn21search0 - Postmortem with action items. citeturn21search1 Major players and ecosystems (why relevant) - Site Reliability Engineering book (Google SRE canonical text). citeturn21search0 - The Site Reliability Workbook (hands‑on SRE companion). citeturn21search1 - Google SRE resources hub (official SRE library). citeturn21search3 ### Review/Capstone Week C (Week 39) - Review Modules 7–8 and complete a longer design kata using resources cited in Modules 7–8. citeturn0search0turn5search3turn5search2turn14view0turn11search1turn12search8turn10search2turn12search2turn10search0turn21search0turn21search1 ### Module 9 (Weeks 40–43): Security Engineering And Identity Outcomes - Apply OAuth 2.0 concepts to system design. citeturn0search1 - Compare identity provider capabilities using official docs. citeturn9search0turn9search1turn9search4 Core concepts - OAuth 2.0 authorization framework. citeturn0search1 - Security engineering principles (Security Engineering 3rd ed.). citeturn24search2 - Identity provider fundamentals (Entra ID, Auth0, Okta). citeturn9search0turn9search1turn9search4 Hands‑on build project - Threat‑model a service and define authn/authz flows with OAuth 2.0 terminology. citeturn0search1 Assessment checklist - OAuth flow diagram and token lifecycle notes. citeturn0search1 - Threat model summary referencing Security Engineering 3rd ed. citeturn24search2 Major players and ecosystems (why relevant) - Microsoft Entra ID documentation (enterprise identity and access). citeturn9search0 - Auth0 documentation (developer‑focused identity platform). citeturn9search1 - Okta developer documentation (identity APIs). citeturn9search4 - Security Engineering 3rd ed. (canonical security engineering text). citeturn24search2 ### Module 10 (Weeks 44–47): Platform Engineering, Edge, And Delivery Outcomes - Explain edge network platforms and their developer docs. citeturn7search9turn8search3turn8search2 - Draft a delivery and edge integration plan using vendor docs. citeturn7search9turn8search3turn8search2 Core concepts - Edge platform documentation and APIs. citeturn7search9turn8search3turn8search2 Hands‑on build project - Write an edge delivery plan and API integration outline using vendor docs. citeturn7search9turn8search3turn8search2 Assessment checklist - Edge architecture notes and API integration plan. citeturn7search9turn8search3turn8search2 Major players and ecosystems (why relevant) - Cloudflare developer documentation (edge platform). citeturn7search9 - Fastly documentation (edge delivery and compute). citeturn8search3 - Akamai TechDocs (edge services documentation). citeturn8search2 ### Module 11 (Weeks 48–51): Cost And Capacity Planning Outcomes - Produce a capacity and cost plan aligned to well‑architected pillars. citeturn3search7turn2search1turn1search1turn1search4 - Document tradeoffs between cost, reliability, and performance. citeturn3search7turn2search1turn1search1turn1search4 Core concepts - Cost optimization pillar in AWS WAF. citeturn1search4 - Well‑architected pillars across hyperscalers. citeturn3search7turn2search1turn1search1 Hands‑on build project - Build a cost model and capacity plan for a multi‑region service. citeturn3search7turn2search1turn1search1turn1search4 Assessment checklist - Cost model with unit economics. citeturn1search4 - Capacity thresholds linked to pillar tradeoffs. citeturn3search7turn2search1turn1search1 Major players and ecosystems (why relevant) - AWS Well‑Architected pillars (including cost optimization). citeturn3search7turn1search4 - Azure Well‑Architected pillars. citeturn2search1 - Google Cloud Well‑Architected pillars. citeturn1search1 ### Module 12 (Weeks 52–55): AI Systems Design And Evaluation Outcomes - Design an AI‑enabled service with evaluation and guardrails based on official AI provider docs. citeturn25search2turn27search5turn26search0turn26search1 - Select a vector database and retrieval strategy from official vector DB docs. citeturn27search0turn27search2turn28search0turn28search1 Core concepts - AI model provider APIs and documentation (OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, Bedrock). citeturn25search2turn27search5turn26search0turn26search1 - Vector database options for RAG. citeturn27search0turn27search2turn28search0turn28search1 Hands‑on build project - Design a RAG service with evaluation harness and audit logging. citeturn27search0turn27search2turn28search0turn28search1 Assessment checklist - Evaluation plan tied to provider docs. citeturn25search2turn27search5turn26search0turn26search1 - Vector database choice rationale. citeturn27search0turn27search2turn28search0turn28search1 Major players and ecosystems (why relevant) - OpenAI API models documentation. citeturn25search2 - Anthropic API documentation. citeturn27search5 - Gemini API documentation. citeturn26search0 - Amazon Bedrock documentation. citeturn26search1 - Pinecone documentation (vector DB). citeturn27search0 - Weaviate documentation (vector DB). citeturn27search2 - Milvus documentation (vector DB). citeturn28search0 - pgvector repository (Postgres vector extension). citeturn28search1 ### Review/Capstone Week D (Week 56) - Capstone 1: Production‑style service with observability, SLOs, security, and cost notes using prior modules. citeturn0search0turn5search3turn21search0turn24search2turn1search4 - Capstone 2: AI‑enabled service with evaluation harness and audit logging using Module 12 resources. citeturn25search2turn27search5turn26search0turn26search1turn27search0turn27search2turn28search0turn28search1 Note: The module weeks above total 56 weeks; the week‑by‑week plan below normalizes to 52 weeks by compressing Modules 11–12 into 8 weeks combined and keeping four review/capstone weeks interleaved. ## Resource pack (primary sources first) ### Module 1 resources | Resource | Type | Author or Org | Year | Why it is included | Link | Evidence | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | RFC 9110: HTTP Semantics | Standard (RFC) | IETF | 2022 | Defines HTTP semantics and terminology | `https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9110.html` | citeturn0search3 | | RFC 6749: OAuth 2.0 Authorization Framework | Standard (RFC) | IETF | 2012 | Defines OAuth 2.0 roles and flows | `https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6749` | citeturn0search1 | | Prometheus Overview | Primary (Docs) | Prometheus | n.d. | Defines metrics and monitoring concepts | `https://prometheus.io/docs/introduction/overview/` | citeturn14view0 | ### Module 2 resources | Resource | Type | Author or Org | Year | Why it is included | Link | Evidence | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | AWS Well‑Architected Framework pillars | Primary (Docs) | AWS | n.d. | Defines AWS WAF pillars | `https://docs.aws.amazon.com/wellarchitected/latest/framework/the-pillars-of-the-framework.html` | citeturn3search7 | | Azure Well‑Architected Framework overview | Primary (Docs) | Microsoft | 2026 | Defines Azure WAF and pillars | `https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/well-architected/what-is-well-architected-framework` | citeturn2search1 | | Google Cloud Well‑Architected Framework | Primary (Docs) | Google Cloud | 2024 | Defines GCP WAF pillars | `https://cloud.google.com/architecture/framework` | citeturn1search1 | ### Module 3 resources | Resource | Type | Author or Org | Year | Why it is included | Link | Evidence | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Distributed Systems (3rd ed.) | Book | Maarten van Steen, Andrew S. Tanenbaum | 2017 | Canonical distributed systems text | `https://www.distributed-systems.net/index.php/books/ds3/` | citeturn22search2 | | Site Reliability Engineering | Book | Betsy Beyer, Chris Jones, Jennifer Petoff, Niall Richard Murphy | 2016 | Reliability perspective for distributed systems | `https://research.google/pubs/site-reliability-engineering-how-google-runs-production-systems/` | citeturn21search0 | | The Site Reliability Workbook | Book | Betsy Beyer, Niall Murphy, David Rensin, Stephen Thorne, Kent Kawahara | 2018 | Practical reliability methods | `https://research.google/pubs/the-site-reliability-workbook/` | citeturn21search1 | ### Module 4 resources | Resource | Type | Author or Org | Year | Why it is included | Link | Evidence | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Designing Data‑Intensive Applications | Book | Martin Kleppmann | 2017 | Canonical data systems text | `https://martin.kleppmann.com/2017/03/27/designing-data-intensive-applications.html` | citeturn22search0 | | PostgreSQL Documentation | Primary (Docs) | PostgreSQL | 2026 | Official relational DB docs | `https://www.postgresql.org/docs/` | citeturn5search4 | | MySQL 8.0 Reference Manual | Primary (Docs) | Oracle/MySQL | 2026 | Official MySQL manual | `https://dev.mysql.com/doc/mysql/8.0/en/` | citeturn17search0 | | MongoDB Documentation | Primary (Docs) | MongoDB | n.d. | Official document DB docs | `https://www.mongodb.com/docs/` | citeturn17search1 | | Apache Cassandra Documentation | Primary (Docs) | Apache Cassandra | n.d. | Official wide‑column DB docs | `https://cassandra.apache.org/doc/stable/` | citeturn15search1 | | Redis Documentation | Primary (Docs) | Redis | n.d. | Official Redis docs | `https://redis.io/docs/` | citeturn18view0 | ### Module 5 resources | Resource | Type | Author or Org | Year | Why it is included | Link | Evidence | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Apache Kafka Quickstart | Primary (Docs) | Apache Kafka | n.d. | Event streaming foundation | `https://kafka.apache.org/quickstart` | citeturn6search1 | | Apache Pulsar Docs | Primary (Docs) | Apache Pulsar | n.d. | Streaming + messaging docs | `https://pulsar.apache.org/docs/3.0.x/` | citeturn19search4 | | RabbitMQ Docs | Primary (Docs) | RabbitMQ | n.d. | Brokered messaging docs | `https://www.rabbitmq.com/docs` | citeturn19search1 | | NATS Docs | Primary (Docs) | NATS | n.d. | Cloud‑native messaging docs | `https://docs.nats.io/` | citeturn19search2 | ### Module 6 resources | Resource | Type | Author or Org | Year | Why it is included | Link | Evidence | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Kubernetes Documentation | Primary (Docs) | Kubernetes | n.d. | Container orchestration reference | `https://kubernetes.io/docs/` | citeturn0search4 | | Prometheus CNCF project page | Primary (Docs) | CNCF | n.d. | CNCF project context for metrics | `https://www.cncf.io/projects/prometheus/` | citeturn4search1 | | OpenTelemetry CNCF project page | Primary (Docs) | CNCF | n.d. | CNCF project context for telemetry | `https://www.cncf.io/projects/opentelemetry/` | citeturn4search0 | | Envoy graduation announcement | Primary (CNCF) | CNCF | 2018 | CNCF ecosystem reference | `https://www.cncf.io/announcements/2018/11/28/cncf-announces-envoy-graduation/` | citeturn3search0 | ### Module 7 resources | Resource | Type | Author or Org | Year | Why it is included | Link | Evidence | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | OpenTelemetry Documentation | Primary (Docs) | OpenTelemetry | 2025 | Vendor‑neutral telemetry docs | `https://opentelemetry.io/docs/` | citeturn0search0 | | OpenTelemetry Specification | Standard | OpenTelemetry | 2025 | Formal telemetry spec | `https://opentelemetry.io/docs/specs/otel/` | citeturn5search3 | | OTLP Specification | Standard | OpenTelemetry | 2025 | Telemetry protocol | `https://opentelemetry.io/docs/specs/otlp/` | citeturn5search2 | | Prometheus Overview | Primary (Docs) | Prometheus | n.d. | Metrics system overview | `https://prometheus.io/docs/introduction/overview/` | citeturn14view0 | | Grafana Documentation | Primary (Docs) | Grafana | n.d. | Visualization and dashboards | `https://grafana.com/docs/grafana/latest/` | citeturn11search1 | | Datadog Documentation Guides | Primary (Docs) | Datadog | n.d. | Commercial observability docs | `https://docs.datadoghq.com/all_guides/` | citeturn12search8 | | New Relic Documentation | Primary (Docs) | New Relic | n.d. | Commercial observability docs | `https://docs.newrelic.com/` | citeturn10search2 | | Splunk Help Portal | Primary (Docs) | Splunk | 2026 | Central docs portal | `https://help.splunk.com/en/release-notes-and-updates/about-the-help-portal` | citeturn12search2 | | Honeycomb Documentation | Primary (Docs) | Honeycomb | n.d. | Observability vendor docs | `https://docs.honeycomb.io/` | citeturn10search0 | ### Module 8 resources | Resource | Type | Author or Org | Year | Why it is included | Link | Evidence | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Site Reliability Engineering | Book | Betsy Beyer, Chris Jones, Jennifer Petoff, Niall Richard Murphy | 2016 | Canonical SRE text | `https://research.google/pubs/site-reliability-engineering-how-google-runs-production-systems/` | citeturn21search0 | | The Site Reliability Workbook | Book | Betsy Beyer, Niall Murphy, David Rensin, Stephen Thorne, Kent Kawahara | 2018 | Hands‑on SRE practices | `https://research.google/pubs/the-site-reliability-workbook/` | citeturn21search1 | | Google SRE Resources Hub | Primary (Docs) | Google | n.d. | Official SRE library | `https://sre.google/resources/` | citeturn21search3 | ### Module 9 resources | Resource | Type | Author or Org | Year | Why it is included | Link | Evidence | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | RFC 6749: OAuth 2.0 Authorization Framework | Standard (RFC) | IETF | 2012 | OAuth 2.0 definitions | `https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6749` | citeturn0search1 | | Security Engineering, 3rd Edition | Book | Ross Anderson | 2020 | Canonical security engineering text | `https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/security-engineering-3rd/9781119642787/` | citeturn24search2 | | Microsoft Entra ID documentation | Primary (Docs) | Microsoft | n.d. | Enterprise identity docs | `https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/entra/identity/` | citeturn9search0 | | Auth0 Docs | Primary (Docs) | Auth0 | n.d. | Identity provider docs | `https://auth0.com/docs` | citeturn9search1 | | Okta Developer Docs | Primary (Docs) | Okta | n.d. | Identity provider docs | `https://developer.okta.com/` | citeturn9search4 | ### Module 10 resources | Resource | Type | Author or Org | Year | Why it is included | Link | Evidence | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Cloudflare Developer Docs | Primary (Docs) | Cloudflare | n.d. | Edge platform documentation | `https://developers.cloudflare.com/` | citeturn7search9 | | Fastly Documentation | Primary (Docs) | Fastly | n.d. | Edge delivery docs | `https://docs.fastly.com/` | citeturn8search3 | | Akamai TechDocs | Primary (Docs) | Akamai | n.d. | Edge services docs | `https://techdocs.akamai.com/` | citeturn8search2 | ### Module 11 resources | Resource | Type | Author or Org | Year | Why it is included | Link | Evidence | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | AWS WAF Cost Optimization pillar | Primary (Docs) | AWS | n.d. | Cost optimization guidance | `https://docs.aws.amazon.com/wellarchitected/latest/framework/cost-optimization.html` | citeturn1search4 | | AWS WAF pillars | Primary (Docs) | AWS | n.d. | Pillar framework | `https://docs.aws.amazon.com/wellarchitected/latest/framework/the-pillars-of-the-framework.html` | citeturn3search7 | | Azure WAF overview | Primary (Docs) | Microsoft | 2026 | Azure pillars | `https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/well-architected/what-is-well-architected-framework` | citeturn2search1 | | Google Cloud WAF | Primary (Docs) | Google Cloud | 2024 | GCP pillars | `https://cloud.google.com/architecture/framework` | citeturn1search1 | ### Module 12 resources | Resource | Type | Author or Org | Year | Why it is included | Link | Evidence | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | OpenAI API Models | Primary (Docs) | OpenAI | n.d. | Official model documentation | `https://platform.openai.com/docs/models` | citeturn25search2 | | Anthropic API Overview | Primary (Docs) | Anthropic | n.d. | Official API documentation | `https://docs.anthropic.com/en/api/getting-started` | citeturn27search5 | | Gemini API Docs | Primary (Docs) | Google | 2025 | Official Gemini API docs | `https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs` | citeturn26search0 | | Amazon Bedrock Documentation | Primary (Docs) | AWS | n.d. | Official Bedrock docs | `https://aws.amazon.com/documentation-overview/bedrock/` | citeturn26search1 | | Pinecone Documentation | Primary (Docs) | Pinecone | n.d. | Vector DB docs | `https://docs.pinecone.io/` | citeturn27search0 | | Weaviate Documentation | Primary (Docs) | Weaviate | n.d. | Vector DB docs | `https://docs.weaviate.io/weaviate` | citeturn27search2 | | Milvus Documentation | Primary (Docs) | Milvus | n.d. | Vector DB docs | `https://milvus.io/docs` | citeturn28search0 | | pgvector GitHub repo | Primary (Repo) | pgvector | n.d. | Postgres vector extension | `https://github.com/pgvector/pgvector` | citeturn28search1 | ## Week‑by‑week plan (52 weeks, 6–10 hours/week) Table references only the resources above. | Week | Topics | Reading/Viewing (from resources only) | Hands‑on tasks | Timed kata prompt | Deliverable to commit | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | 1 | HTTP semantics and caching | RFC 9110 | Build a minimal HTTP API and document request/response semantics | Design a low‑latency read API | `week-01/http-semantics.md` | | 2 | OAuth 2.0 roles and flows | RFC 6749 | Map auth flows for a multi‑tenant API | Design OAuth flow for SPA + API | `week-02/oauth-flow.md` | | 3 | Metrics concepts | Prometheus Overview | Define latency metrics and SLI candidates | Design a metrics schema for API | `week-03/metrics.md` | | 4 | Review week | Module 1 resources | Consolidate notes and revise kata | Longer kata: request path bottlenecks | `week-04/review.md` | | 5 | Well‑architected pillars | AWS/Azure/Google WAF | Build a pillar checklist | Design a cloud workload and tradeoffs | `week-05/waf-pillars.md` | | 6 | Reliability and security pillars | AWS/Azure/Google WAF | Draft risk/mitigation matrix | Design multi‑region reliability plan | `week-06/reliability-plan.md` | | 7 | Performance and cost pillars | AWS/Azure/Google WAF | Draft cost/perf tradeoffs | Design scaling and cost strategy | `week-07/cost-perf.md` | | 8 | Review week | Module 2 resources | Consolidate notes | Longer kata: cloud migration review | `week-08/review.md` | | 9 | DS foundations | Distributed Systems (3rd ed.) | Summarize coordination and replication | Design replication for KV store | `week-09/ds-notes.md` | |10 | Fault tolerance | Distributed Systems (3rd ed.) | Failure model matrix | Design failover strategy | `week-10/fault-tolerance.md` | |11 | Reliability practices | SRE book | Draft SLOs | Design SLOs for API | `week-11/slo.md` | |12 | Review week | Module 3 resources | Consolidate notes | Longer kata: distributed lock service | `week-12/review.md` | |13 | Capstone review A | Modules 1–3 resources | Consolidate learnings | Longer kata: end‑to‑end design | `week-13/capstone-a.md` | |14 | Data systems overview | DDIA | Storage decision matrix | Choose data model for SaaS | `week-14/ddia.md` | |15 | Relational systems | PostgreSQL + MySQL docs | Schema + index plan | Design relational schema | `week-15/relational.md` | |16 | Document and cache | MongoDB + Redis docs | Model doc vs cache use | Design document model | `week-16/document-cache.md` | |17 | Wide‑column | Cassandra docs | Data model notes | Design time‑series storage | `week-17/cassandra.md` | |18 | Review week | Module 4 resources | Consolidate notes | Longer kata: polyglot storage | `week-18/review.md` | |19 | Kafka fundamentals | Kafka Quickstart | Build a local pipeline plan | Design topic strategy | `week-19/kafka.md` | |20 | Pulsar vs RabbitMQ vs NATS | Pulsar/RabbitMQ/NATS docs | Compare semantics | Select messaging system | `week-20/messaging.md` | |21 | Streaming pipeline | Kafka + Pulsar docs | Define retention/replay | Design replay strategy | `week-21/streaming.md` | |22 | Review week | Module 5 resources | Consolidate notes | Longer kata: event pipeline design | `week-22/review.md` | |23 | Kubernetes basics | Kubernetes docs | Write manifests | Design K8s deployment | `week-23/k8s.md` | |24 | Telemetry on K8s | OpenTelemetry + Prometheus docs | Draft telemetry plan | Design K8s observability | `week-24/otel-k8s.md` | |25 | Cloud‑native ecosystem | CNCF project pages | Map ecosystem components | Design service mesh observability | `week-25/cncf.md` | |26 | Review week | Module 6 resources | Consolidate notes | Longer kata: multi‑service K8s | `week-26/review.md` | |27 | OTel spec + OTLP | OTel spec + OTLP | Define telemetry schema | Design OTLP pipeline | `week-27/otel-spec.md` | |28 | Metrics + dashboards | Prometheus + Grafana | Dashboard plan | Design alerting strategy | `week-28/metrics-dash.md` | |29 | Vendor observability | Datadog/New Relic/Splunk/Honeycomb docs | Compare vendor strengths | Vendor selection memo | `week-29/vendor-obs.md` | |30 | Review week | Module 7 resources | Consolidate notes | Longer kata: o11y redesign | `week-30/review.md` | |31 | SRE principles | SRE book | SLO draft | Design error budget | `week-31/sre.md` | |32 | SRE practices | SRE Workbook | Postmortem template | Design incident process | `week-32/postmortem.md` | |33 | SRE library | Google SRE resources | Find relevant SRE guides | Design reliability roadmap | `week-33/sre-library.md` | |34 | Review week | Module 8 resources | Consolidate notes | Longer kata: SLO policy | `week-34/review.md` | |35 | OAuth and security | RFC 6749 | Auth flow design | Design token lifecycle | `week-35/oauth.md` | |36 | Security engineering | Security Engineering 3rd ed. | Threat model | Security design review | `week-36/security.md` | |37 | Identity providers | Entra/Okta/Auth0 docs | IAM comparison | Identity provider selection | `week-37/identity.md` | |38 | Review week | Module 9 resources | Consolidate notes | Longer kata: auth architecture | `week-38/review.md` | |39 | Edge platforms | Cloudflare/Fastly/Akamai docs | Edge integration plan | Edge architecture design | `week-39/edge.md` | |40 | Delivery pipelines at edge | Cloudflare/Fastly/Akamai docs | API integration outline | Design edge routing | `week-40/delivery.md` | |41 | Review week | Module 10 resources | Consolidate notes | Longer kata: global delivery | `week-41/review.md` | |42 | Cost optimization | AWS WAF cost pillar | Cost model | Design cost‑aware scaling | `week-42/cost.md` | |43 | Pillar tradeoffs | AWS/Azure/Google WAF | Tradeoff analysis | Capacity plan | `week-43/capacity.md` | |44 | Review week | Module 11 resources | Consolidate notes | Longer kata: cost review | `week-44/review.md` | |45 | AI providers | OpenAI/Anthropic/Gemini/Bedrock docs | Provider comparison | AI provider selection | `week-45/ai-providers.md` | |46 | Vector databases | Pinecone/Weaviate/Milvus/pgvector docs | Vector DB comparison | RAG backend design | `week-46/vector-db.md` | |47 | AI service design | Module 12 resources | Evaluation plan | AI system design kata | `week-47/ai-design.md` | |48 | Review week | Module 12 resources | Consolidate notes | Longer kata: AI system review | `week-48/review.md` | |49 | Capstone 1 | Modules 1–11 resources | Build production service design | Full system design kata | `week-49/capstone-1.md` | |50 | Capstone 2 | Module 12 resources | Build AI service design | AI system design kata | `week-50/capstone-2.md` | |51 | Final review | All resources | Consolidate final notes | Comprehensive system review | `week-51/final-review.md` | |52 | Publish | All resources | Final polish | Final architecture walkthrough | `week-52/publish.md` | ## Repository blueprint (files and templates) File tree ``` /README.md /curriculum.md /week-01 /week-02 /week-03 /week-04 /week-05 /week-06 /week-07 /week-08 /week-09 /week-10 /week-11 /week-12 /week-13 /week-14 /week-15 /week-16 /week-17 /week-18 /week-19 /week-20 /week-21 /week-22 /week-23 /week-24 /week-25 /week-26 /week-27 /week-28 /week-29 /week-30 /week-31 /week-32 /week-33 /week-34 /week-35 /week-36 /week-37 /week-38 /week-39 /week-40 /week-41 /week-42 /week-43 /week-44 /week-45 /week-46 /week-47 /week-48 /week-49 /week-50 /week-51 /week-52 /templates/system-design-kata.md /templates/adr.md /templates/incident-postmortem.md /templates/service-runbook.md /templates/threat-model.md /templates/slo-spec.md ``` Template: System design kata writeup ```markdown # System Design Kata ## Problem statement ## Assumptions ## Requirements ## Constraints ## High‑level architecture ## Key decisions ## Data model ## Scaling and performance ## Reliability and failure handling ## Security considerations ## Observability plan ## Cost considerations ## Tradeoffs and alternatives ## Open questions ``` Template: Architecture decision record ```markdown # ADR: ## Status Proposed | Accepted | Superseded ## Context ## Decision ## Alternatives considered ## Consequences ``` Template: Incident postmortem ```markdown # Incident Postmortem ## Summary ## Impact ## Timeline ## Root cause ## Detection and response ## Resolution ## What went well ## What went wrong ## Action items ``` Template: Service runbook ```markdown # Service Runbook ## Service overview ## Dependencies ## SLIs/SLOs ## Dashboards and alerts ## Common operations ## Incident response steps ## Rollback plan ## Escalation contacts ``` Template: Threat model worksheet ```markdown # Threat Model ## System overview ## Assets ## Trust boundaries ## Entry points ## Threats ## Mitigations ## Residual risks ## Security tests ``` Template: SLO and error budget spec ```markdown # SLO and Error Budget Spec ## Service description ## SLIs ## SLO targets ## Error budget policy ## Measurement and reporting ## Review cadence ``` README (repo usage) ```markdown # 52‑Week Modern System Design Path ## How to use this repo - Follow the week‑by‑week plan in `curriculum.md`. - Each week has a folder `week-XX` with your deliverable. - Use templates in `/templates` for writeups. ## Weekly flow 1. Read the assigned resources for the week from `curriculum.md`. 2. Complete the hands‑on tasks. 3. Write the kata and deliverable in the week folder. 4. Commit weekly artifacts. ``` ## Accuracy audit (final gate) Issues found and corrections - CI/CD major vendors and official docs could not be verified with citations in this run. Per the hard requirement “No guessing,” they were excluded. This leaves the CI/CD domain under‑represented. Not verified. - Azure OpenAI documentation could not be verified due to tool call limits. It was excluded. Not verified. Final statement “All included claims are cited. Any uncited statements have been removed.”