In a distributed database system, achieving optimal performance requires careful management of various factors such as horizontal and vertical scaling, strong consistency, and geo-distribution for active-active systems. Aerospike's CTO and Founder, Srini Srinivasan, outlines four essential principles for modern distributed database management: scaling out (horizontal scaling), scaling up (vertical scaling), strong consistency and high availability, and geo-distribution for active-active systems. By focusing on these areas, organizations can ensure that their distributed databases operate at peak efficiency while meeting critical service level agreements (SLAs).