Single Server Setup Quiz

What is the format of the response when retrieving user information with a given ID?

Which type of database would be suitable for storing unstructured data?

What is a primary advantage of horizontal scaling over vertical scaling?

Why might a developer choose a relational database over a non-relational database?

Which of the following best describes vertical scaling?

One major limitation of vertical scaling is that it:

Which of the following is NOT a category of non-relational databases?

What is a significant feature of NoSQL databases?

What is the primary purpose of the Domain Name System (DNS) in a single server setup?

Which components are included in a single server setup?

What is the role of HTTP in the request flow?

Which of the following best describes the relationship between web applications and mobile applications in terms of traffic source?

Why is JSON commonly used as an API response format?

Single Server Setup

All components of a system run on a single server: web app, database, cache, etc.
Requests are handled through the Domain Name System (DNS), which translates domain names to IP addresses.
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) requests are then sent to the web server, which returns HTML pages or JSON data.
Traffic originates from both web applications (server-side languages like Java, Python and client-side languages like HTML, JavaScript) and mobile applications (communicating via HTTP protocol with JSON data).
An example of a JSON response is provided, illustrating data retrieval from a user profile.

Database

When user base grows, a single server becomes insufficient, necessitating multiple servers.
Splitting web/mobile traffic (web tier) and database (data tier) allows independent scaling.
Choosing a database: relational databases (RDBMS or SQL) like MySQL, Oracle, and PostgreSQL, store data in tables and rows, enabling join operations across tables.
Non-relational databases (NoSQL) like CouchDB, Neo4j, Cassandra, HBase, and Amazon DynamoDB, are categorized as key-value stores, graph stores, column stores, and document stores. They generally do not support join operations.
Relational databases are often preferred due to their maturity and proven track record, while non-relational databases are suitable for:
- Super-low latency requirements.
- Unstructured data.
- Large data storage needs.
- Serialization and deserialization of data (JSON, XML, YAML).

Vertical Scaling vs Horizontal Scaling

Vertical scaling (scale up) involves adding more power (CPU, RAM) to existing servers.
Horizontal scaling (scale-out) involves adding more servers to the resource pool.
Vertical scaling is simpler for low-traffic situations but has limitations due to hardware limits and lack of failover/redundancy.
Horizontal scaling is more desirable for large-scale applications.

Test your knowledge on setting up a single server system that includes a web app, database, and cache. Understand the role of DNS in handling requests and the importance of scaling to multiple servers as user base grows. This quiz covers key concepts related to web architecture and database choices.