Spent the first few minutes just thinking about the bounded processing time and whether that changed anything about the queue design.
Start by clarifying requirements and constraints, then propose a high-level architecture that decouples request intake from processing using a queue. Discuss trade-offs between different queuing strategies and data structures, and explain how to handle overload and ensure fairness.
Pro tip: Emphasize that the queue must be bounded and discuss backpressure mechanisms to prevent system collapse under load, showing you think about real-world reliability.
Ask about expected request rate, acceptable wait times, and whether requests can be dropped or must be processed. Confirm if N is fixed or can scale.
Propose a system with a load balancer, a queue (e.g., Redis, RabbitMQ), and N worker threads/processes. Explain how requests are enqueued and dequeued.
Select an appropriate queue implementation (e.g., circular buffer, linked list) and discuss concurrency control (locks, lock-free). Consider priority queuing if needed.
Describe strategies like bounded queues, rejecting requests when full, or applying backpressure to clients. Discuss monitoring and auto-scaling.
Compare latency vs. throughput, fairness vs. efficiency, and complexity vs. reliability. Justify your choices based on requirements.
AI-generated suggestions, not part of the candidate's original notes. May be inaccurate — verify before relying on them.