In this module, we will dive into the importance of communication within distributed systems, focusing on message transport and communication patterns. You'll learn about traditional load balancers, service registries, and service meshes that help manage distributed services. We'll also cover idempotent service design to ensure fault tolerance. Finally, you'll get hands-on experience configuring resilient Remote Procedure Calls (RPC) and exploring service discovery technologies.

In this module, we will examine the role of distributed databases in modern systems, starting with a comparison between traditional RDBMS systems and NoSQL databases. You'll learn about advanced techniques like data sharding and consistent hashing, along with the implications of the CAP theorem. A brief introduction to Apache Cassandra will set the stage for the hands-on practice, where you'll use Cassandra in the Tiny-URL project to implement a distributed database solution.

In this module, we will explore how cluster-wide coordination is crucial for maintaining consistency in distributed systems. You'll learn about the RAFT consensus algorithm and its implementation, along with a brief introduction to ETCD. Key techniques like leader election and distributed mutexes will be covered, and we'll discuss the deployment requirements for strongly consistent systems. Finally, you'll gain hands-on experience by adding cluster coordination to the Tiny-URL project.

In this module, we will explore distributed messaging systems, focusing on asynchronous communication patterns and message-oriented middleware. You'll get an introduction to Apache Kafka and understand how it operates as a distributed system. We'll also cover event-driven architecture and its advantages in distributed systems. In the practice session, you'll gain hands-on experience with distributed messaging systems to enhance the Tiny-URL project.