System Application

Cloud Computing

Key Points Provides on-demand computing resources Includes compute, storage, and networking services Supports elastic scaling and managed operations Foundational model for modern digital infrastructure Enables remote provisioning from managed environments Supports enterprise IT, software development, analytics, and collaboration Definition Cloud…

Service Mesh

Key Points Handles service communication policies Supports traffic control and security Used in microservices and cloud-native environments Adds observability to east-west traffic Enforces mTLS, routing, and telemetry policies across service communication paths Definition Service Mesh is an infrastructure layer that…

Tracing

Key Points Tracks flow across system boundaries Used in observability and debugging Supports latency and dependency analysis Common in distributed systems Reveals dependencies between services and components Identifies where time is spent in transactions Definition Tracing is the recording or…

Cold Standby System

Key Points Inactive until failover occurs Lowest steady-state resource cost Slowest recovery among standby modes Dormant backup mode Definition Cold Standby System is a backup system that remains inactive until it is needed, enabling lower steady-state resource consumption while accepting…

API Gateway

Key Points Acts as a front door for API traffic Can apply auth, routing, and transformation rules Simplifies client access to multiple backend services Used in distributed application architectures Provides a managed entry point for application traffic Centralizes authentication, authorization,…

Message Queue

Key Points Buffers messages between systems Supports asynchronous processing Common in distributed architectures Helps decouple producers and consumers Absorbs bursts and smooths workload differences Improves resilience through loose coupling Definition Message Queue is an asynchronous messaging system that stores messages…

Cloud Storage

Key Points Delivered as a network service over cloud infrastructure Can include file, block, or object storage models Used for applications, backups, archives, and enterprise workloads Scales with cloud infrastructure without local hardware ownership Access performance, retention cost, consistency behavior,…

Containerization

Key Points Packages software with dependencies Provides isolated runtime environments Used in cloud and application deployment Supports portability and repeatability Enables consistent application behavior from development through production Definition Containerization is the packaging of software and its dependencies into isolated…

Object Storage

Key Points Stores data as objects rather than blocks or files Scales well for large data sets Common in cloud platforms Useful for unstructured or semi-structured data Accessed through APIs rather than mounted as filesystems Supports flexible metadata handling Definition…

Logging

Key Points Captures events for analysis Supports troubleshooting and audit Used in software, infrastructure, and operations May be structured or unstructured Provides traceability and an audit trail Used across application development, cloud operations, cybersecurity, networking, and industrial systems Definition Logging…