preface

As an engineer, I am never more confident than when I truly understand a complex concept. When you deeply understand a system’s underlying mechanics, you can explain where the system is coming from and predict where the system is going.

Over the course of my career working with distributed systems, I’ve focused on systems thinking and modeling to develop dependable mental models—models that cut through doubt and bring distributed systems into focus.

In this book, I want to share the mental models I’ve developed over 20 years. More important, I want to show you how to construct your own, replacing confusion with clarity, and hesitance with confidence so that you can experience the deep satisfaction of distributed systems engineering along with me.