Components of Whatsapp Architecture

Below are some components that help WhatsApp to handle 50 billion messages a day.

1. Distributed Architecture

WhatsApp operates on a distributed architecture comprising multiple data centers located strategically across the globe. This distributed setup helps in load balancing, minimizing latency by serving users from the nearest data center and ensuring high availability even in the face of data center failures or network issues.

2. Message Queuing

Message queuing systems like Kafka or RabbitMQ are employed to manage the flow of messages within WhatsApp’s infrastructure. These systems facilitate asynchronous communication between different components, decoupling producers and consumers, and enabling scalable message processing.

3. Erlang and BEAM

WhatsApp’s backend is built using Erlang programming language and runs on the BEAM virtual machine. Erlang’s lightweight processes, concurrency model, and fault-tolerance features make it well-suited for handling the high volume of messages efficiently. BEAM manages process scheduling, memory allocation, and communication between Erlang processes, optimizing performance and resource utilization.

4. Custom Messaging Protocol

WhatsApp employs a custom messaging protocol tailored for low latency and high throughput. The protocol likely incorporates techniques such as message compression, connection pooling, and multiplexing to minimize overhead and maximize performance. It may also include optimizations for handling different types of messages, such as text, images, videos, and documents.

5. Databases

WhatsApp’s backend utilizes distributed databases like Mnesia for storing message data. These databases are designed to handle high concurrency and provide features like replication, sharding, and consistency guarantees. Data partitioning and replication strategies ensure that message data is distributed and replicated across multiple nodes for fault tolerance and scalability.

6. Caching

Caching mechanisms are employed to store frequently accessed data, such as user profiles, message metadata, and media content. Distributed caching solutions like Redis or Memcached are used to cache data across multiple nodes, reducing latency and offloading the backend servers. Cache invalidation strategies ensure that cached data remains consistent with the underlying database and reflects real-time updates.

7. Content Delivery Networks (CDNs)

WhatsApp leverages CDNs to cache and deliver media content (e.g., images, videos, voice messages) closer to end-users. CDNs improve content delivery speed by serving content from edge locations, reducing the load on origin servers, and minimizing latency for users worldwide.

8. Monitoring and Analytics

WhatsApp continuously monitors its infrastructure and user activity using monitoring tools and real-time analytics. Metrics such as message throughput, latency, error rates, and resource utilization are monitored to identify performance bottlenecks and optimize system performance. Anomaly detection algorithms help in detecting unusual patterns or security threats, enabling proactive response and mitigation.

9. Security Measures

Security is a top priority for WhatsApp, and robust measures are in place to protect user data and ensure privacy. End-to-end encryption ensures that messages remain encrypted during transmission and can only be decrypted by the intended recipients. Authentication, authorization, and encryption mechanisms are implemented to safeguard user accounts, prevent unauthorized access, and protect against various security threats.

10. Scalability and Redundancy

WhatsApp’s architecture is designed to scale horizontally to accommodate growing user bases and message volumes. Redundancy is built into the system to ensure high availability and fault tolerance. Automatic failover mechanisms, data replication, and load balancing strategies ensure uninterrupted service even in the event of hardware failures, data center outages, or network disruptions.

11. .Yaws

Yaws is a high-performance, lightweight web server written in Erlang. It is well-suited for serving dynamic content and handling concurrent connections efficiently. Yaws supports various programming languages for dynamic content generation, including Erlang, PHP, and Python. It is highly configurable and can be extended with additional features through its modular architecture. Yaws is often used in conjunction with other Erlang-based technologies to build scalable and fault-tolerant web applications.

12. Mnesia

Mnesia is a distributed, real-time database management system built into the Erlang/OTP platform. It is designed for high concurrency, fault tolerance, and low-latency access. Mnesia provides features such as ACID transactions, replication, and distribution, making it suitable for building distributed and fault-tolerant systems. It supports various storage backends, including RAM-based tables for in-memory data storage and disk-based tables for persistent storage. Mnesia is often used in Erlang applications for storing application state, configuration data, user sessions, and other types of data that require fast and reliable access.

13. FreeBSD

FreeBSD is a free and open-source Unix-like operating system descended from Research Unix via the Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) branch. It is known for its stability, performance, security, and scalability. FreeBSD provides a robust networking stack, advanced filesystem features, and support for various hardware platforms. It is widely used in server environments, including web hosting, networking infrastructure, and cloud computing. FreeBSD is well-suited for running high-performance web servers, database servers, and other mission-critical applications. Many popular internet services and websites run on FreeBSD, thanks to its reliability, performance, and security features.

In the ever-evolving world of Technology certain stories inspire us all, One such outstanding case is WhatsApp, the messaging giant that successfully supported a staggering 50 billion messages per day. Founded from humble beginnings in 2009 by Jan Koum, WhatsApp stands as a beacon of technological progress in the rapid pace of digital communication. In this article, we are going to delve into the architecture and system design of WhatsApp.