CS System Architecture & Design 2

Question 1

A web application experiences slow response times because every request hits the database. Which architectural component is best suited to reduce database load for frequently read, rarely changed data?

Accepted Answer

A caching layer such as Redis or Memcached

Answer

A cache stores frequently accessed data in memory, serving reads without repeated database queries.

Question 2

In the CAP theorem, what must a distributed system sacrifice during a network partition if it chooses to remain available?

Accepted Answer

Consistency

Answer

CAP states that during a partition a system can guarantee either consistency or availability, not both.

Question 3

Which design pattern decouples a service that produces events from services that consume them, allowing consumers to process work asynchronously?

Accepted Answer

Publish-subscribe messaging

Answer

Publish-subscribe lets producers emit events to a broker while consumers subscribe independently and process asynchronously.

Question 4

A company splits its monolithic e-commerce application into independent services for orders, inventory, and payments, each with its own database. What architectural style is this?

Accepted Answer

Microservices architecture

Answer

Microservices decompose an application into small, independently deployable services, each owning its own data.

Question 5

What is the primary purpose of a load balancer in a horizontally scaled system?

Accepted Answer

Distribute incoming traffic across multiple servers

Answer

A load balancer spreads requests across server instances to improve throughput and availability.

(CS) Computer Science Practice Test

(CS) Computer Science Practice Test

CS System Architecture & Design 2