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Real-time System Design Case Studies

14 Real-time case studies from Meta with full breakdowns.

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Gaming Leaderboard (Top K)
16 min readDistributed SystemsReal-timeStorage
Beginner▶ Mock
Push Notification Service
17 min readReal-timeMessagingDistributed Systems
Advanced+5▶ Mock
Messenger App
9 min readReal-timeMessagingDistributed Systems
Advanced+5▶ Mock
BookMyShow
9 min readDistributed SystemsPaymentsBooking System
Beginner▶ Mock
Uber Design (Ride-Hailing)
5 min readGeospatialReal-timeDistributed Systems
Advanced+2▶ Mock
Ad Click and Impression Aggregator
6 min readAdsAnalyticsData Pipelines
Advanced+2▶ Mock
Content Moderation System (Harmful Post Detection)
6 min readAI / MLSecurityData Pipelines
Advanced▶ Mock
Fitness Tracking App (Strava-style)
3 min readGeospatialStorageAPI Design
Intermediate▶ Mock
Live Comments for Live Video (Facebook Live / TikTok Live)
6 min readReal-timeMessagingDistributed Systems
Intermediate▶ Mock
Real-Time Online Auction (eBay / Live Auctions)
7 min readReal-timeDistributed SystemsPayments
Advanced▶ Mock
Online Chess Platform (chess.com)
6 min readReal-timeDistributed SystemsMessaging
Intermediate▶ Mock
Online Judge and Coding Contest Platform (LeetCode)
6 min readDistributed SystemsSecurityScheduling
Intermediate▶ Mock
Top-K Trending Items (Heavy Hitters)
7 min readAnalyticsReal-timeAlgorithms
Advanced+4▶ Mock

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Real-time in system design?

Real-time is a core system design topic covered in 51 case studies on InterviewSkool. It appears frequently in FAANG interviews, especially at Google, Amazon, and Meta.

How should I prepare Real-time for system design interviews?

Study the case studies above, focusing on architecture trade-offs, scale estimates, and API designs. Practice explaining your decisions aloud — this is exactly what interviewers evaluate.

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