System Architecture

The User-X platform is built on a modern, scalable architecture designed for global deployment with enterprise-grade security and performance.

High-Level Architecture

graph TB
    subgraph "Client Applications"
        WEB[Web App]
        MOBILE[Mobile App]
        API_CLIENT[API Clients]
    end

    subgraph "CDN & Load Balancing"
        CDN[Global CDN]
        LB[Load Balancer]
    end

    subgraph "Application Layer"
        API[API Gateway]
        AUTH[Auth Service]
        WEBHOOK[Webhook Service]
        WORKER[Background Workers]
    end

    subgraph "Data Layer"
        DB[(MongoDB Atlas)]
        CACHE[(Redis Cache)]
        STORAGE[File Storage]
    end

    subgraph "External Services"
        AUTH0[Auth0]
        CLOUDINARY[Cloudinary]
        EMAIL[Email Service]
    end

    WEB --> CDN
    MOBILE --> CDN
    API_CLIENT --> CDN
    CDN --> LB
    LB --> API
    API --> AUTH
    API --> WEBHOOK
    API --> WORKER
    AUTH --> AUTH0
    API --> DB
    API --> CACHE
    API --> STORAGE
    STORAGE --> CLOUDINARY
    WORKER --> EMAIL
    WEBHOOK --> API_CLIENT

Core Components

API Gateway

The API Gateway serves as the single entry point for all client requests, providing:

Request Routing: Intelligent routing to appropriate services
Authentication: JWT and API key validation
Rate Limiting: Protection against abuse and overload
Request/Response Transformation: Data format standardization
Monitoring: Real-time metrics and logging

Authentication Service

Multi-layered authentication system supporting:

JWT Tokens: For user session management
API Keys: For server-to-server communication
OAuth 2.0: Integration with Auth0 for enterprise SSO
Multi-Factor Authentication: Enhanced security for sensitive operations

Webhook Service

Event-driven notification system that:

Delivers Real-time Events: Verification submissions, claim completions, rewards
Ensures Reliability: Retry logic with exponential backoff
Maintains Security: Signature verification and HTTPS enforcement
Provides Monitoring: Delivery status tracking and analytics

Background Workers

Asynchronous processing for:

Verification Processing: Image analysis and content moderation
Reward Generation: Voucher creation and distribution
Email Notifications: User communications and alerts
Data Analytics: Usage metrics and reporting

Data Architecture

Database Design

The platform uses MongoDB Atlas with the following collections:

Users Collection

{
  "_id": "ObjectId",
  "email": "string",
  "name": "string",
  "profile": {
    "avatar": "string",
    "bio": "string"
  },
  "auth": {
    "auth0Id": "string",
    "lastLogin": "Date"
  },
  "createdAt": "Date",
  "updatedAt": "Date"
}

Opportunities Collection

{
  "_id": "ObjectId",
  "title": "string",
  "description": "string",
  "status": "enum[draft, active, completed, archived]",
  "tasks": [
    {
      "id": "string",
      "title": "string",
      "description": "string",
      "type": "enum[survey, upload, social]",
      "required": "boolean",
      "order": "number"
    }
  ],
  "reward": {
    "type": "enum[voucher, points, cash]",
    "value": "number",
    "currency": "string"
  },
  "targeting": {
    "demographics": "object",
    "geography": "array"
  },
  "createdAt": "Date",
  "expiresAt": "Date"
}

Claims Collection

{
  "_id": "ObjectId",
  "opportunityId": "ObjectId",
  "userId": "ObjectId",
  "status": "enum[active, completed, expired]",
  "progress": {
    "completedTasks": "number",
    "totalTasks": "number"
  },
  "createdAt": "Date",
  "completedAt": "Date"
}

Caching Strategy

Redis is used for:

Session Storage: User authentication tokens
API Response Caching: Frequently accessed data
Rate Limiting: Request counters and windows
Real-time Data: Live user activity and notifications

Security Architecture

Data Protection

Encryption at Rest: AES-256 encryption for all stored data
Encryption in Transit: TLS 1.3 for all communications
Field-Level Encryption: Sensitive PII data protection
Key Management: AWS KMS for encryption key rotation

Access Control

Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Granular permission system
API Rate Limiting: Per-user and per-endpoint limits
IP Whitelisting: Restricted access for sensitive operations
Audit Logging: Comprehensive activity tracking

Compliance

GDPR Compliance: Data minimization and user rights
SOC 2 Type II: Security and availability controls
ISO 27001: Information security management
PCI DSS: Payment card data protection

Deployment Architecture

Multi-Region Setup

graph TB
    subgraph "North America"
        US_API[API Servers]
        US_DB[(Primary DB)]
        US_CACHE[(Cache)]
    end

    subgraph "Europe"
        EU_API[API Servers]
        EU_DB[(Regional DB)]
        EU_CACHE[(Cache)]
    end

    subgraph "Asia Pacific"
        APAC_API[API Servers]
        APAC_DB[(Regional DB)]
        APAC_CACHE[(Cache)]
    end

    subgraph "Global Services"
        GLOBAL_CDN[Global CDN]
        GLOBAL_LB[Global Load Balancer]
        MONITORING[Monitoring]
    end

    GLOBAL_CDN --> GLOBAL_LB
    GLOBAL_LB --> US_API
    GLOBAL_LB --> EU_API
    GLOBAL_LB --> APAC_API

    US_API --> US_DB
    US_API --> US_CACHE
    EU_API --> EU_DB
    EU_API --> EU_CACHE
    APAC_API --> APAC_DB
    APAC_API --> APAC_CACHE

    US_DB -.-> EU_DB
    US_DB -.-> APAC_DB

Infrastructure Components

Application Hosting

Platform: Firebase Hosting with global CDN
Compute: Cloud Run for serverless scaling
Container Registry: Google Container Registry
CI/CD: GitHub Actions with automated deployments

Database Infrastructure

Primary: MongoDB Atlas M40 clusters
Replication: Cross-region read replicas
Backup: Automated daily backups with point-in-time recovery
Monitoring: Real-time performance metrics

File Storage

Primary: Cloudinary for media processing
CDN: Global edge caching for fast delivery
Optimization: Automatic image/video compression
Security: Signed URLs for private content

Monitoring and Observability

Application Monitoring

APM: Application performance monitoring with Datadog
Error Tracking: Real-time error detection and alerting
Custom Metrics: Business KPIs and user engagement
Distributed Tracing: Request flow across services

Infrastructure Monitoring

Server Metrics: CPU, memory, disk, and network usage
Database Performance: Query performance and connection pooling
Cache Hit Rates: Redis performance optimization
CDN Analytics: Global traffic patterns and performance

Alerting

Threshold Alerts: Automated alerts for performance degradation
Anomaly Detection: ML-based unusual pattern detection
Escalation Policies: Multi-tier alert routing
Incident Management: Automated ticket creation and tracking

Scalability Considerations

Horizontal Scaling

Stateless Services: All application services are stateless
Load Balancing: Automatic traffic distribution
Auto-scaling: Dynamic resource allocation based on demand
Database Sharding: Horizontal database partitioning

Performance Optimization

CDN Caching: Global edge caching for static assets
Database Indexing: Optimized queries for fast data retrieval
Connection Pooling: Efficient database connection management
Lazy Loading: On-demand resource loading

Capacity Planning

Traffic Forecasting: Predictive scaling based on usage patterns
Resource Monitoring: Proactive capacity management
Load Testing: Regular performance validation
Disaster Recovery: Multi-region failover capabilities

API Design Principles

RESTful Architecture

Resource-Based URLs: Clear and intuitive endpoint structure
HTTP Methods: Proper use of GET, POST, PUT, DELETE
Status Codes: Meaningful HTTP response codes
Stateless Operations: No server-side session state

Data Formats

JSON: Primary data exchange format
Pagination: Cursor-based pagination for large datasets
Filtering: Query parameter-based data filtering
Sorting: Flexible result ordering options

Versioning Strategy

URL Versioning: Version in the URL path (/v1/, /v2/)
Backward Compatibility: Maintaining support for older versions
Deprecation Policy: Clear timeline for version sunset
Migration Guides: Detailed upgrade documentation

This architecture ensures the User-X platform can scale globally while maintaining high performance, security, and reliability standards.