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Design Cloud File Storage

Last updated: May 2, 2026

Quick Overview

This question evaluates system design and architectural skills for scalable cloud file storage, focusing on metadata versus blob separation, chunked file handling, folder organization, and access control.

  • medium
  • Harvey
  • System Design
  • Software Engineer

Design Cloud File Storage

Company: Harvey

Role: Software Engineer

Category: System Design

Difficulty: medium

Interview Round: Onsite

Design a cloud file storage service similar to Google Drive. The system should allow users to: - Upload files. - Download files. - Store and retrieve file metadata such as name, size, owner, creation time, update time, and storage location. - Organize files in folders. - Support basic sharing and access control. Focus especially on separating the metadata store from the blob storage layer. Follow-up: Files may become very large and should be split into smaller chunks. Extend the design to support chunked file storage while preserving file metadata and enabling efficient upload and download.

Quick Answer: This question evaluates system design and architectural skills for scalable cloud file storage, focusing on metadata versus blob separation, chunked file handling, folder organization, and access control.

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Harvey
May 2, 2026, 12:00 AM
Software Engineer
Onsite
System Design
3
0
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Design a cloud file storage service similar to Google Drive.

The system should allow users to:

  • Upload files.
  • Download files.
  • Store and retrieve file metadata such as name, size, owner, creation time, update time, and storage location.
  • Organize files in folders.
  • Support basic sharing and access control.

Focus especially on separating the metadata store from the blob storage layer.

Follow-up: Files may become very large and should be split into smaller chunks. Extend the design to support chunked file storage while preserving file metadata and enabling efficient upload and download.

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