When building modern web applications, scalability should be a primary consideration from day one. In this post, I'll share some insights from my experience building systems that handle millions of requests.
Key Principles
- Design for failure - Assume components will fail and build resilience into your architecture
- Horizontal scaling - Prefer stateless services that can be easily replicated
- Caching strategically - Identify hot paths and cache aggressively
Practical Tips
The most important thing I've learned is to measure everything. Without metrics, you're flying blind. Start with the basics: response times, error rates, and throughput.
"Premature optimization is the root of all evil, but premature measurement is the root of all wisdom."
Build observability into your systems from the start. It's much harder to add later.