Architecture & System Design Flashcards
7 cards from real CDT practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Architecture & System Design flashcards as text
Which document management architecture pattern separates content storage from metadata indexing to optimize search performance?
Answer: Decoupled content and index architecture
Decoupled content and index architecture stores binary content separately from searchable metadata, allowing each layer to be optimized independently.
In a distributed document management system, what is the primary purpose of a content-addressable storage (CAS) layer?
Answer: To deduplicate files by storing them by their cryptographic hash
CAS stores files indexed by a hash of their content, so identical files are stored only once, enabling automatic deduplication.
A document system requires that all edits be reversible and auditable indefinitely. Which storage pattern best supports this requirement?
Answer: Append-only immutable versioning
Append-only immutable versioning never modifies existing records, ensuring every state is preserved and auditable.
Which component in an enterprise content management (ECM) architecture is responsible for enforcing document retention schedules automatically?
Answer: Records management module
The records management module applies retention policies, triggering disposition actions (hold, archive, or delete) based on schedule rules.
When designing a system for high-volume document ingestion, which queuing strategy prevents back-pressure from overwhelming downstream processors?
Answer: Priority queue with dead-letter channel
A priority queue with a dead-letter channel buffers incoming documents, routes failures for inspection, and absorbs ingestion bursts without dropping data.
In document system design, what does 'eventual consistency' imply for a replicated content store?
Answer: Reads may return stale data until replication completes
Eventual consistency allows replicas to diverge temporarily; given no new updates, all nodes will converge to the same state over time.
Which architectural approach allows a document management system to support multiple client application types (web, mobile, desktop) without duplicating business logic?
Answer: API-first headless architecture
An API-first headless architecture exposes business logic through standardized APIs, letting any client consume the same services without logic duplication.