.NET Architecture & System Design Interview Question #16

What is a stateless application?

Architecture Fundamentals, Scalability, Availability & Performance Junior Beginner

Quick Interview Answer

A stateless application does not require a particular server instance to remember client-specific state between requests. Any healthy instance can normally process the next request.

Detailed Explanation

A stateless application does not require a particular server instance to remember client-specific state between requests. Any healthy instance can normally process the next request.

Stateless application tiers are easier to scale horizontally. Required shared state can be stored in appropriate external systems such as a database, distributed cache, or durable object storage.

Code Example

Request 1 -> App A
Request 2 -> App C

Shared state -> Database / Distributed Cache