Scalability Patterns and Techniques Questions

Practical scaling techniques and patterns for application and data layers. Topics include horizontal and vertical scaling strategies and the trade offs of each; caching topologies and strategies such as cache aside write through and write behind and approaches to cache invalidation and consistency; database scaling techniques including read replicas partitioning and sharding and rebalancing strategies; load balancing algorithms including round robin least connections consistent hashing and strategies for sticky sessions and service discovery; message queue and event streaming patterns for decoupling backpressure and asynchronous processing; content distribution using content delivery networks; connection pooling and resource management; rate limiting throttling retry strategies and approaches to avoid thundering herd problems; and how to combine patterns effectively given workload characteristics and operational constraints. Interviewers expect candidates to explain interactions between patterns and the operational pitfalls of each technique.