Stop Saying "Just Use Redis": A Key-Value Store Cheat Sheet for System Design Interviews

Short summary

A cheat sheet covering 9 key-value stores (Redis, DynamoDB, FoundationDB, Cassandra, Riak, Etcd, RocksDB, LevelDB, Memcached) with deploy-when and avoid-when guidance for system design interviews. The core message is that candidates should articulate trade-offs—consistency vs availability, RAM limits, write-heavy patterns—rather than defaulting to "just use Redis." The article ends by directing readers to a longer Medium post for deeper coverage.

• •Covers 9 KV stores with deploy/avoid scenarios for interview prep
• •Emphasizes articulating trade-offs over name-dropping databases
• •Ends with a self-promotional link to a Medium post for full details

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