SD - Scale
· One min read
When discussing system architecture and scale, we often use vague terms like "thousands," or "millions." These terms can be ambiguous and lead to miscommunication. For example:
- "Millions" could mean 2 million or 70 million
- "Thousands" could mean 2,000 or 9,000
Use this scale framework
| General Term | Specific Term | Default Assumption | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hundreds | - | 500 | 100-999 |
| Thousands | - | 5,000 | 1,000-9,999 |
| Tens of Thousands | 50,000 | 10,000-99,999 | |
| Hundreds of Thousands | 500,000 | 100,000-999,999 | |
| Millions | - | 5M | 1M-9.9M |
| Tens of Millions | 50M | 10M-99.9M | |
| Hundreds of Millions | 500M | 100M-999.9M | |
| Billions | - | 5B | 1B-9.9B |
| Tens of Billions | 50B | 10B-99.9B |
- If someone says "We have hundreds of users", assume approximately 500 users.
- If someone mentions "Tens of millions of daily requests", assume approximately 50 million requests per day.