Code Room
On-callMediumoc-g129
Subject Inconsistent replicasLevel Mid–Senior~30 minCommon in Databases & SQL · Distributed systems interviewsIndustries Technology, Software development

Question

Users report prices flapping: a product shows $19.99 on one page load and $24.99 on the next, inconsistently, after a pricing update was pushed at 13:00. Dashboards: the DB has the correct new price ($24.99) everywhere; a Redis cache fronts the product read path with a 1-hour TTL; cache hit rate is 92%; there are 8 app instances, each with a small in-process LRU cache in FRONT of Redis (a recent 'optimization' added two weeks ago) holding entries for 10 minutes; no TTL was reduced for the price push. How do you triage the flapping, serve correct prices now, and prevent stale prices on the next update?

What a strong answer looks like

Stop the bleeding first (mitigate), then form hypotheses from real signals. Separate root cause from symptom, communicate status as you go, and close with what prevents a repeat.

Diagram & narrate the incident
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Run or narrate your approach, then ask the coach.