ElastiCache

A fully managed in-memory caching database

  • diagram - caching
  • diagram - ElastiCache
  • A caching database
    • A db that helps you store that caching data in memory
    • In memory caching
      • All about storing data that’s frequently requested in memory, so that it can be retrieved quicker than a typical database
  • Not a traditional db
    • Technically, ElastiCache can store data and serve as a data store, but it is not a database in the traditional sense
    • While it can store and retrieve data, it lacks several key features that typical databases (like RDS or DynamoDB) provide, which makes it unsuitable as a full-fledged database for persistent data storage
  • You need to choose VPC, subnets, and security groups
  • ElastiCache query commands

Main Engines

  • Redis
    • open-source, in-memory key-value data store
    • often used as a cache but can also function as a general-purpose data store
  • Memcached
    • also an open-source, in-memory key-value store
    • Unlike Redis, Memcached is simpler and focuses solely on caching
    • designed to be a high-performance, distributed memory cache that speeds up web applications by alleviating database load
  • Valkey
    • open-source, in-memory, high-performance key-value datastore that serves as a drop-in replacement for Redis OSS