https://tuanhiep.github.io/principal/tags/system-design/Recent content in System-Design on Tuan Hiep TRAN — The Principal CraftHugo -- 0.162.1en-usFri, 01 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://tuanhiep.github.io/principal/posts/series_4/1.the_illusion_of_non_blocking_and_thread_starvation/Fri, 01 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://tuanhiep.github.io/principal/posts/series_4/1.the_illusion_of_non_blocking_and_thread_starvation/When 5% CPU utilization meets 503 Service Unavailable. Dissecting the cost of waiting and the quantitative failure of hybrid execution models.https://tuanhiep.github.io/principal/posts/series_3/4.the_integrity_fallacy_data_loss/Mon, 20 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://tuanhiep.github.io/principal/posts/series_3/4.the_integrity_fallacy_data_loss/A queue with zero lag can still be a crime scene. We conclude the series by dissecting the ‘Catch-and-Commit’ anti-pattern and establishing why a Dead Letter Queue is an architectural mandate, not a luxury.https://tuanhiep.github.io/principal/posts/series_3/3.the_protocol_trap_broker_semantics/Sun, 19 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://tuanhiep.github.io/principal/posts/series_3/3.the_protocol_trap_broker_semantics/Distributed brokers use leases to detect life. We dissect how the ‘MAX_VALUE’ configuration trap disables a system’s autonomic immune response, turning transient failures into permanent paralysis.https://tuanhiep.github.io/principal/posts/series_3/2.concurrency_collapse_thread_starvation/Sat, 18 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://tuanhiep.github.io/principal/posts/series_3/2.concurrency_collapse_thread_starvation/Asynchronous frameworks do not eliminate latency; they merely shift the bottleneck. We dissect how a single blocking I/O call inside a reactive pipeline can trigger a catastrophic thread starvation event.https://tuanhiep.github.io/principal/posts/series_3/1.the_observability_mirage_zombie_consumers/Fri, 17 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://tuanhiep.github.io/principal/posts/series_3/1.the_observability_mirage_zombie_consumers/When a dashboard reports 100% health but throughput is zero, the system isn’t dead—it’s paralyzed. We dissect thread starvation, the illusion of structural health checks, and the math behind a system collapse.https://tuanhiep.github.io/principal/posts/series_2/4.scaling_beyond_postgresql_sharding/Sat, 11 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://tuanhiep.github.io/principal/posts/series_2/4.scaling_beyond_postgresql_sharding/When a single PostgreSQL instance hits its physical limits, we must shard. We explore the Connection Collapse trap, multiplexing proxies, and intelligent shard routing.https://tuanhiep.github.io/principal/posts/series_2/3.designing_for_failure_lease_systems/Fri, 10 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://tuanhiep.github.io/principal/posts/series_2/3.designing_for_failure_lease_systems/When SKIP LOCKED is not enough. We explore the State Model, the Law of Temporal Ownership, and how Fencing Tokens prevent distributed split-brain.https://tuanhiep.github.io/principal/posts/series_2/2.turning_postgresql_into_a_lock_free_queue/Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://tuanhiep.github.io/principal/posts/series_2/2.turning_postgresql_into_a_lock_free_queue/How to resolve massive database lock contention without deploying Kafka. We explore Quantitative Capacity, the Law of Non-Blocking Acquisition, and the SKIP LOCKED paradigm.https://tuanhiep.github.io/principal/posts/series_2/1.the_law_of_decoupled_computation/Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://tuanhiep.github.io/principal/posts/series_2/1.the_law_of_decoupled_computation/Why Compute-on-Demand fails at scale. We explore the Law of Decoupled Computation, the Decision Framework, and how to eliminate latency from the critical path.https://tuanhiep.github.io/principal/posts/series_1/5.capstone_unified_reference_architecture/Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://tuanhiep.github.io/principal/posts/series_1/5.capstone_unified_reference_architecture/The grand synthesis. We combine Deterministic Routing, Orthogonality, Global Governance, and Snapshot-Oriented Immutability into a single Deterministic Orchestration Engine.https://tuanhiep.github.io/principal/posts/series_1/4.immutable_pipeline_zero_cost_rollback/Mon, 30 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://tuanhiep.github.io/principal/posts/series_1/4.immutable_pipeline_zero_cost_rollback/How to survive pipeline failures without data corruption. We explore Snapshot-Oriented Execution, the limits of Database Transactions, and O(1) In-Memory Rollbacks.https://tuanhiep.github.io/principal/posts/series_1/3.global_governance_distributed_ordering/Sun, 29 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://tuanhiep.github.io/principal/posts/series_1/3.global_governance_distributed_ordering/Why relying on @Order in a distributed codebase leads to ‘Global Blindness’. We explore how to regain control of a massive pipeline through Centralized Static Registries.https://tuanhiep.github.io/principal/posts/series_1/2.orthogonal_architecture_extension_layer/Sat, 28 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://tuanhiep.github.io/principal/posts/series_1/2.orthogonal_architecture_extension_layer/How to prevent your core domain from rotting with side-effects. We explore Orthogonal Architecture, Blast Radius containment, and the principle of Core Blindness.https://tuanhiep.github.io/principal/posts/series_1/1.routing_as_first_class_problem/Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://tuanhiep.github.io/principal/posts/series_1/1.routing_as_first_class_problem/When systems scale, they don’t fail because of incorrect logic; they fail due to a loss of control over execution order. Here is how to build a Deterministic Strategy Pipeline.