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Most of the time, a system operates comfortably within its capacity. But when concert tickets go on sale, a flash sale begins, or breaking news hits, traffic can jump to many times its normal level within seconds. The system needs to absorb these sudden spikes without slowing down or crashing.

This lesson covers how to design a system that stays up when traffic suddenly jumps far above normal, the main techniques used to absorb or control that extra traffic, and the trade-offs that come with each one.

It also covers how to approach traffic spikes in a system design interview, since many common interview problems involve sudden bursts of users.