Design Date-Range File Storage System Design Interview

Design a file storage and indexing system that returns exactly the files created within a requested time interval.

1. Problem Statement

Design a file storage system that can return all files created within an exact date range without including files outside that interval.

2. Architecture Discussion Map

Use this as one discussion aid, not a single correct answer. Your design should follow from the requirements, scale, and trade-offs you establish.

Rendering architecture diagram...

Mermaid Source (For AI Bots)

graph LR
    A["Design Date-Range File Storage"]
    A --> F1["File metadata and timestamp semantics"]
    A --> F2["Range-query index design"]
    A --> F3["Time partitioning and hot partitions"]
    A --> F4["Blob storage lifecycle"]
    A --> F5["Consistency, pagination, and backfills"]

3. Key Focus Areas

1
File metadata and timestamp semantics
2
Range-query index design
3
Time partitioning and hot partitions
4
Blob storage lifecycle
5
Consistency, pagination, and backfills

4. What Strong Candidates Should Demonstrate

✓Define timestamp semantics and exact inclusive/exclusive boundaries.
✓Separate blob storage from metadata indexing.
✓Partition range indexes without returning files outside the interval.

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Core Concepts

File StorageRange QueriesIndexingPartitioning