At my very first job interview, when they asked how many requests my server could handle, I said 10,000. Looking back, I have no idea what I based that on 😄 But somehow, I got the job. Later, diving into system design, I learned the standard rule of thumb: one CPU core handles roughly 1,000 requests per second. So a 64-core server can handle around 64,000 req/s — possibly more in practice, but for interviews and back-of-the-envelope calculations, that’s the number to keep in mind. Seriously, read up on system design — it genuinely sharpens the way you think. What’s funny is that back then, I had zero nerves going into interviews. Didn’t know much, but walked in confident anyway. Looking back, I honestly don’t know how 😄
BOTEC = Back-of-the-envelope calculation