Uber System Design | High Level Design of Uber, Ola, Lyft, Careem | Software Architecture @SCALER

Step-by-Step Tutorial: Designing a Large-Scale Cab Service System like Uber

Step 1: Understanding Customer User Journeys

• Identify the two types of customers: drivers and riders.
• Define the different user journeys for drivers (creating profile, accepting rides, navigating, ending rides, payment, and rating) and riders (creating profile, finding cabs, booking, ETA, and payment).

Step 2: Functional Requirements

• Map customer user journeys to functional requirements.
• Identify the need for minimal latency, high availability, durability, scalability, and consistency in the system design.

Step 3: Estimating QPS

• Calculate the expected number of monthly active users and daily rides to estimate queries per second (QPS).
• Determine the number of active drivers and rides per day to calculate QPS for the system.

Step 4: Communication Infrastructure

• Implement synchronous communication using HTTP requests and asynchronous communication using WebSocket servers for real-time data exchange between users and servers.

Step 5: Finding Nearby Drivers

• Utilize geohashing, quad trees, or Google S2 Library to efficiently find nearby drivers based on their locations.
• Optimize search by creating primary indices on latitude and longitude in databases.

Step 6: Designing Services

• Implement critical services like map service, location service, cab finder service, profile service, payment service, and trip service to manage different aspects of the system.

Step 7: Trip Management

• Create a trip service to handle trip status, location data, and trip-related operations like starting, ending, and payment processing.
• Use SQL and NoSQL databases to store active and inactive trips data efficiently.

Step 8: Fraud Detection and Machine Learning

• Implement fraud detection mechanisms using machine learning algorithms to prevent fraudulent activities like fake rides.
• Utilize historical data and location pings for fraud analysis and user profiling.

Step 9: Authentication and Authorization

• Implement user tokens or API keys for authentication to ensure that users have access to their own profiles and trips.
• Secure user data and transactions through proper authentication mechanisms.

Step 10: Logging and Monitoring

• Set up logging services to capture system errors, debugging information, and performance metrics.
• Use tools like Elasticsearch, Logstash, and Kibana for log analysis, visualization, and monitoring of system activities.

Step 11: Continuous Improvement

• Continuously analyze logs, user feedback, and system performance to identify areas for improvement.
• Implement feedback loops to enhance user experience, optimize services, and scale the system effectively.

By following these steps, you can design a robust and scalable cab service system similar to Uber, Ola, Lyft, or Careem. Each component plays a crucial role in ensuring smooth operations, efficient communication, and a seamless user experience within the application.