𝗗𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝘀 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗡𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄

𝗗𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝘀 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗡𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄

Distributed systems are hard. Networks fail. Clocks drift. Partial failures happen. Use these patterns to build reliable systems.

Core Patterns:

• Saga: Manages transactions across services. It uses local transactions and compensating actions.
• Outbox: Ensures reliable messages. It writes events to a table first.
• Circuit Breaker: Stops cascading failures. It fails fast when a service is down.
• Bulkhead: Isolates failures. It gives each component its own resource pool.
• Leader Election: Picks one node to coordinate. This prevents split-brain issues.
• Sidecar: Adds helper functions in a separate container. It handles logging and monitoring.

Engineering Advice:

• Sketch your architecture first.
• Find failure modes.
• Build the happy path first.
• Add error handling later.
• Do not over-engineer for scale you do not have.

Operational Needs: You need these three things for every service:

• Structured logs with trace IDs.
• RED metrics.
• Distributed tracing.

Quick Wins:

• Use idempotency keys to stop duplicate requests.
• Use database transactions for multiple updates.

Your Action Plan:

• This week: Audit your backend for these patterns.
• This month: Try one new pattern.
• This quarter: Automate your deployments.

Source: https://dev.to/therizwansaleem/distributed-systems-patterns-every-backend-engineer-should-know-2fk7