Architecture and protocols
Architecture and protocols are the skeleton and logic of the Gamble Hub, the foundation on which the entire ecosystem is built.
If an ecosystem is an organism, then architecture is its structure, and protocols are a nervous system that provides synchronicity and meaningful movement.
Instead of the classic pyramid, where the growth goes from the base up, the Gamble Hub is built as a reverse pyramid: each peak becomes the source of its foundation.
An operator, studio or partner is not a "chain link," but the center of its own network, generating markets, connections and teams. The more active the peak, the wider its foundation, and the more stable the entire system.
1. Decentralization without chaos. Management is distributed, but all nodes are connected by uniform protocols of data, roles and rights.
2. Parameter inheritance. Any change in the upper layer (for example, RTP, limit or access) can be applied cascading down the chain with the possibility of local exceptions.
3. Scalability in breadth and depth. The network is growing not only vertically, but also laterally - creating new chains, partnerships, regional branches and product areas.
4. Transparent streams. All actions, events and transactions go through a single observability protocol - from the API level to the interface.
5. Self-organization. New elements (operators, studios, branches) are built into the architecture without external configuration: protocols automatically set links and metrics.
Gamble Hub protocols are a language of interaction between all levels of the system.
They determine who sees what, what actions are available, how reports are generated, and who is responsible for changes.
Each protocol describes not only the data structure, but also the logic of trust: signatures, audits, access rights and versions are fixed at the API level.
- Data protocol - responsible for the integrity and consistency between all services.
- Role protocol - Defines access levels, delegation, and inheritance.
- Transaction Protocol - Controls payment routes, limits, and security.
- Signal Protocol - Manages analytics flows and events within the network.
- Synchronization protocol - connects parallel circuits and allows them to exchange experience and benchmarks.
This is how a single control geometry is formed - transparent, predictable and scalable.
Unlike platforms where the structure is "hardwired," Gamble Hub creates a viable architecture that can adapt to the context of the participant.
It does not break when growing - it grows with him.
Each element of the network knows its place, its function and boundaries of responsibility, but remains part of the overall system.
Thanks to this, the architecture turns not into a scheme, but into a synchronous movement mechanism, where code, data and business speak the same language.
Architecture and protocols are not just a technical section.
It is a philosophy of interconnectedness, discipline and evolution.
Gamble Hub builds a system where growth starts at the top and sustainability is born out of a clear structure.
This model does not repeat the world - it creates a new order.
Key Topics
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Reverse Pyramid Model
A detailed guide to the use of the "reverse pyramid" in system architecture and network protocols: from prioritization of the critical path and minimal contracts to circuit versioning, progressive degradation, QoS, observability and antipatterns. With examples (REST/gRPC/Events) and a checklist for production.
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CQRS and read/write separation
CQRS (Command Query Responsibility Segregation) Practice Guide: When to Apply, How to Design Write and Read Models, Consistency (eventual vs. strong), Projections and Replications, outbox/CDC, Sagas and Transactional Boundaries, Storage Selection, Observability, Security, Testing, and Migrations. With templates for payments, KYC and balances.
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Exactly-once semantics
Engineering Guide to Exactly-Once Semantics (EOS): Delivery and Processing Differences, end-to-end vs. hop-by-hop, Architectural Patterns (Transactional Log + Sink, Outbox, Idempotent Shiki), Kafka EOS Engine, Flink/stream-processors, Deduplication and Versioning, Failure Testing, cost and trade-offs. With a production checklist and anti-patterns.
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API versioning strategies
Complete guide to versioning API for REST/gRPC/GraphQL/Event-driven: when to release major, how to live on additive changes, where to keep the version (URI, media types, headers, protobuf packages, event names), how to do negotiation, dual-run, sunset, gateway routing, and compatibility tests. With checklists, anti-patterns and ready-made templates.
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Schema registry and data evolution
A practical guide to building and operating a schema registry: schema types (JSON Schema/Avro/Protobuf/GraphQL SDL), compatibility modes (BACKWARD/FORWARD/FULL), version and migration management, additive evolution rules, validation in CI/CD, event cataloging and API, roll-out/rollback strategies, security and auditing. With examples, templates and checklists.
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Batch vs Stream: When What
Practical comparison of batch and stream processing: selection signals, SLO/SLA, data freshness and cost, typical architectures (Lambda/Kappa/Hybrid), windows and retro corrections, storage and formats, reliability and idempotency, testing and observability. With checklists, anti-patterns and reference patterns for analytics, product features and integrations.
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Rate limits and quotas
Practical guide to limiting and quotas: models (Token/Leaky Bucket, GCRA, windows), distributed limiters, limits on plans and tenants, caps for competition, VIP prioritization, protection against "noisy neighbor," idempotency and retray, response header standards, observability, billing and checklists before sale.
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Sagas and distributed transactions
A practical guide to sagas and distributed transactions: consistency models (eventual/compensating/TCC), orchestration vs choreography, step and compensation design, idempotency and outbox, deduplication, timeouts and retrays, observability and testing, type errors, and production checklists.
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CAP and engineering trade-offs
A pragmatic explanation of the CAP theorem and accompanying trade-offs: what is network partitioning, how CP differs from AP, why "CA" is a myth in failures, how PACELC (latency vs. consistency) helps, what consistency models exist, how to make architectural decisions for multi-region, microservices and queues. Checklists, type errors and quick recipes.
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Materialized Views
A practical guide to materialized views (MVs): what it is and how it differs from caches, how to design incremental updating (CDC/streaming), REFRESH schedules, indexes and partitioning, consistency and freshness, multi-region and multi-tenant, observability, tests, type errors, and production checklists.
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Content catalog engine
Practical architecture of the content catalog engine for iGaming: domain model (Game/Provider/Collection/Placement), ingest and normalization of metadata, localization and multimedia, filters and search, ranking signals (RTP/volatility/popularity/marketing), personalization, compliance/geo-blocks, multi-tenant and multi-region, API (REST/GraphQL), caching/projections, SLO/observability, playbooks, and checklist.
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Semantic versioning
Practical SemVer standard for the platform: what to count as breaking/minor/patch, how to version REST/gRPC/GraphQL/events/database schemas, provider adapters and client SDKs. Depriction policy, compatibility, negotiation, pre-release/metadata, changelog, release automation (Conventional Commits, CI/CD), checklists and anti-patterns.
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Webhook Delivery Guarantees
Engineering model of reliable delivery of webhooks: levels of guarantees (best-effort, at-least-once, effectively-exactly-once), key order, idempotency, signature and anti-replay, retrays with backoff + jitter, DLQ and redrive, quotas and fair-queue per tenant, observability and SLO, schema versioning, and incident playbooks. Example headings, useful formats, and reference policies.
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Auditing and immutable logs
A practical guide to building audits and unchangeable logs: threat model, event taxonomy, schemas and correlation, time requirements, delivery channels, retention and retention policies, cryptographic invariability (append-only, hash chains, signatures, time stamps), multi-lease, privacy, exploitation, testing and checklists. Suitable for platform and product teams, SecOps/Compliance and architects.
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Task Queues and Balancing
A practical guide to building task queuing systems: push/pull models, routing and load balancing (round-robin, fair share, priorities, WFQ/WRR), delivery semantics (at-least/at-most/effectively exactly-once), retrai and DLQ, visibility/timeouts, idempotence and dedup, planning and SLA classes, auto-scaling of workers, sharding and multi-tenancy, observability and checklists. Examples for RabbitMQ/AMQP, SQS, Kafka/NATS JetStream, Celery/Sidekiq/Resque, Redis queues.
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Exactly-once vs At-least-once
Practical comparison of message/task delivery semantics: failure patterns where "real exactly-once" is possible and where it is a marketing myth; how to build effectively exactly-once over at-least-once with idempotency, transactions, and deduplication. Patterns (Outbox/Inbox, Upsert, idempotent keys, SAGA), examples for Kafka/NATS/Rabbit/SQS and DB (PostgreSQL/Redis), anti-patterns, metrics, test playbooks and selection checklist.
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Message order guarantees
Practical guide to ensuring order in brokers and queues: types of guarantees (per-partition, per-key, global, causal), where order is lost (retrai, parallelism, multiconsuming), how to save it (keys/parties, sequence/versioning, transactions, sticky-routing), how to "fix" out-of-order in stream processing (buffers, windows, watermarks) and what to do with "poisonous" messages. Разбор Kafka, RabbitMQ, NATS/JetStream, SQS FIFO, Pub/Sub; checklists, anti-patterns, and sample configurations.
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GRPC vs REST в iGaming
Engineering comparison of gRPC and REST for iGaming platforms: when to choose binary gRPC (low latency, streaming, strict contracts), and when REST (browser compatibility, partner integrations, caches/CDN). We analyze real-time betting schemes, quotes, anti-fraud, payments and KYC, the impact of the protocol on SLO/SLA, idempotency and audit, API gateways and service mesh, security and versioning, observability and test playbooks. Ready-made patterns, anti-patterns and selection checklist.
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Time zones and sensitivity
A practical guide to working with time in distributed systems: UTC vs local time, IANA timezones, DST, "double" and missed minutes, leap-seconds/world, schedulers, events and logs, data models, API contracts, testing and observability. Patterns, anti-patterns and checklists for architects and developers.
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Contract testing
Distributed Systems Contract Testing Guide: Contract Types (HTTP/gRPC/GraphQL/Kafka), Consumer-Driven Model, Schema Version and Evolution, Negative and Invariant Checks, Stable Generation, Pact/contract-broker/Schema Registry, CI Embedding/CD, compatibility matrix, and anti-patterns. Sample schemes, pseudocode and checklists.
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Energy efficient architecture
A practical guide to green architecture: metrics (PUE/CUE/joules per request), energy and carbon models, carbon-aware planning, hardware and algorithm selection, code and data efficiency, network and storage patterns, ML optimization, telemetry and gates in CI/CD. Patterns/anti-patterns, checklists, and pseudocode.
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Reference implementation
A practical guide to creating and operating reference implementations (Reference Implementations, RI): goals and boundaries, repository architecture, protocol and schema conventions, conformance tests and golden files, CI/CD, sample clients and SDKs, production "Jordan-minimum" settings (security, observation, perf baselines), version policy and compatibility matrix, anti-patterns and architect checklist.
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Threat Modeling and Risk Control
Practical Guide to Threat Modeling and Risk Management: Asset and Trust Inventory, DFD/Data Outlines, STRIDE/LINDDUN/PASTA Frameworks, Risk Scales (DREAD/CVSS), Risk Register, Control Selection and Design (prevent/detect/respond), Safety by Principle (Least Privilege, Zero Trust, KMS/secrets, PoLP), supply chain (SBOM/SLSA/IaC policies), privacy, gates in SDLC and maturity metrics. Templates, checklists, sample charts and policies as code.