Hey there, welcome!
TL;DR: This blog is my engineering diary where I explore distributed systems, scalability patterns, and the fascinating challenges of building software that serves millions of users. I work at GitHub, where thinking about scale is part of the daily job. If you're into distributed systems and want to follow someone's unfiltered journey through these topics, you're in the right place.
What This Blog Is (And Isn't)
Let me be upfront: this isn't meant to be an authoritative source on distributed systems. There are plenty of excellent resources for that, books by folks like Martin Kleppmann, papers from Google and Amazon, and courses from world-class universities.
What this is? A personal diary. A place where I document the systems I encounter, the patterns I find interesting, and the questions that keep me thinking. Sometimes I'll explore how existing systems work. Other times, I'll share my own thoughts on how they could be improved or scaled differently.
Think of it as looking over my shoulder while I work through these problems.
Why Distributed Systems?
Working at GitHub, I get to see firsthand what happens when millions of developers interact with a platform simultaneously. Every day brings interesting questions:
- How do you handle a sudden spike when a repository goes viral?
- What happens when a data center has connectivity issues?
- How do you keep data consistent across globally distributed systems?
- Where are the bottlenecks, and what trade-offs are acceptable?
These aren't hypothetical problems. They're real challenges that shape how we think about architecture, reliability, and performance.
I find myself constantly thinking about these systems: their limitations, potential improvements, and alternative approaches. This blog is my way of organizing those thoughts and sharing them with anyone who finds them useful.
What You'll Find Here
I plan to explore topics like:
- Scalability Deep-Dives: Analyzing how systems scale (or don't) and what we can learn from them
- Distributed Systems Patterns: Consensus, replication, partitioning, and the trade-offs behind each approach
- Architecture Explorations: Looking at real-world systems and thinking through how they might evolve
- Production Lessons: Insights from working on systems at scale, what works, what breaks, and why
- AI/ML at Scale: How machine learning intersects with distributed systems challenges
Who This Is For
If you're someone who:
- Gets excited about understanding how large-scale systems work
- Enjoys thinking through trade-offs in system design
- Wants to follow along as someone explores these topics in real-time
- Appreciates honest, unpolished takes over polished perfection
Then I think you'll enjoy what I share here.
Let's Connect
I'd love to hear from you, whether it's feedback on a post, a topic you'd like me to explore, or just to say hi.
You can find me on:
Thanks for stopping by. Let's explore these systems together!
Have a suggestion for a system or topic I should dive into? Feel free to reach out on Twitter or LinkedIn.
