System Architecture Designer Exam: Analysis of Morning, Afternoon, and Essay Questions

Exam Overview

Three subjects constitute the System Architecture Designer certification. Each subject requires a minimum of 45 points to pass; passing all three subjects is mandatory.

Morning Section – Comprehensive Knowledge

75 single‑choice questions, 150 minutes, 75 points total. Passing score: 45.

Software Engineering – 10‑12 questions (13‑16%)

Architecture Design – 12‑15 questions (16‑20%)

Distributed Systems – 10‑12 questions (13‑16%)

Databases – 6‑8 questions (8‑10%)

Network Basics – 5‑7 questions (7‑9%)

Security Basics – 5‑6 questions (7‑8%)

New Technologies (e.g., Cloud‑Native) – 5‑8 questions (7‑10%)

Other (English, Operations Research, etc.) – 10 questions (13%)

Typical question types:

Concept question – identify the wrong statement about micro‑services:
A. micro‑service is an architectural style
B. micro‑services communicate via HTTP REST API
C. micro‑services should avoid loose coupling
D. micro‑services may use different tech stacks
Answer: C (micro‑services aim for loose coupling).

Calculation question – required concurrent connections for 10 000 QPS with 50 ms response time:
Answer: 500 (concurrency = QPS × response time = 10 000 × 0.05).

Scenario question – database bottleneck during a sales promotion:
Options: A. upgrade hardware, B. add cache, C. read/write splitting, D. migrate to cloud.
Answer: B (adding cache reduces pressure directly).

Afternoon Section – Case Analysis

Three large‑case questions, choose any two, 90 minutes, total 75 points (≈25 points each). Passing score: 45.

Typical case topics include architecture design, distributed/micro‑service scenarios, and system reliability or security. Required deliverables are diagrams, module responsibilities, high‑availability measures, and cache strategy.

Sample case and reference answer:

Case: Design architecture for an online education platform.
1. Draw overall architecture diagram.
2. Explain responsibilities of each module.
3. Describe high‑availability mechanisms.
4. Propose cache strategy.

Reference answer outline:
- Layers: Web/App → Load balancer (Nginx/LVS) → Micro‑service cluster → Data layer (MySQL + Redis + Message queue).
- Module duties: gateway (routing, authentication, rate‑limit), user service, course service, order service.
- HA measures: multi‑instance deployment, master‑slave DB replication, Redis cluster, circuit‑breaker.
- Cache strategy: multi‑level cache (local + distributed), Bloom filter to prevent cache‑penetration, randomised TTL to avoid cache avalanche.

Essay Section – Paper

Four essay prompts, choose one, 120 minutes, 75 points, about 2500 words.

Recent exam topics (2022‑2023) focus on micro‑service architecture, cloud‑native, DevOps, distributed architecture, data architecture, and architecture governance.

Standard essay structure:

Abstract (~300 words) – project background, main work, results.

Main body (~2000 words) – background, requirement analysis, architecture design, implementation process.

Conclusion (~300 words) – outcomes, lessons, future outlook.

Typical essay prompt example:

Discuss your involvement in a micro‑service architecture design project, covering project background, micro‑service decomposition principles, service governance solution, and a summary of outcomes and lessons.

Study Strategy and Time Allocation

Prioritize the morning section to build a solid knowledge foundation.

Practice case analysis to master recurring patterns; allocate roughly 45 minutes per chosen case.

Prepare 2‑3 project case studies for the essay; outline takes ~10 minutes, writing ~100 minutes.

Total exam time: 5 h 30 min.

Morning – 150 minutes (suggest 120 minutes answering, 30 minutes review).

Afternoon case – 90 minutes (≈45 minutes per selected case).

Essay – 120 minutes (10 minutes outline, 100 minutes writing, 10 minutes check).

Difficulty Comparison

Comprehensive Knowledge – moderate depth, broad coverage; pass by accurate concept memorization and formula recall.

Case Analysis – higher difficulty; requires application of patterns, diagramming, and optimization analysis.

Essay – highest difficulty; demands real project experience, structured writing, and synthesis of design decisions.