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Have you ever clicked a button and just had to wait… and wait… for an app to respond? Such a slow response happens when your application has to search through a database to find the information it needs each time someone makes a request.
The good news is that your app doesn’t always have to start from scratch, as it can actually remember the answers to frequently asked questions. That’s what caching helps you achieve, and Amazon ElastiCache makes it easy to set up. Let’s explore how this service works and why it’s a must-have if you aim to deliver the lightning-fast experience your users expect.
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Request demoWhat Is ElastiCache?
ElastiCache is a service offered by Amazon Web Services that keeps data in memory, allowing your applications to access frequently needed information quickly. This makes your apps respond faster to common user actions.
Compare this process to your browser caching. This saves certain bits of data so websites load quicker the next time you visit a specific page. ElastiCache does something similar, but behind the scenes on Amazon’s servers, speeding operations for all app users.
The biggest benefit of this managed service is that Amazon manages all the complex technical aspects, so you don’t have to worry about managing servers or dealing with complex systems.
Key Database Challenges ElastiCache Addresses
Database issues can considerably slow down your applications. ElastiCache addresses these problems directly. Let’s take a look at the main challenges it solves for businesses aiming to improve their performance.
High Latency Issues
People don’t like to wait, especially when it comes to data loading. And when database queries take a long time, users can get impatient and might leave your site.
Since ElastiCache stores often-used data in memory, this data can be accessed almost instantly, even in microseconds. And this dramatically improves your app’s responsiveness.
Database Overload
When your website or app experiences a surge in traffic, your main database can become overwhelmed if it wasn’t designed to handle such a large number of identical requests at once.
ElastiCache acts as a buffer during these busy periods and handles repetitive read requests, thus lightening the load on your database.
Cost Efficiency Concerns
Upgrading database servers for peak loads can be very expensive. But with ElastiCache, you can simply reduce a significant portion of the read workload on your main database. This way, you can maintain smaller and more affordable database instances while still enjoying excellent performance.
What to Cache And What Not to Cache in Your Applications
The best data to cache are those that are read frequently but don’t change often. Take product details in an online store, for example — thousands of shoppers view the same items every day, but descriptions and prices usually only update weekly.
Similarly, user profiles are another great candidate. People often check their profiles multiple times a day, but make updates rarely. Caching this information saves your database from running the same queries over and over.
However, there are some types of data you should avoid caching. Information that updates constantly — like live stock prices or current weather conditions — becomes outdated almost immediately, so caching it isn’t worth the extra space.
Plus, content that isn’t frequently accessed isn’t ideal for caching either. If an item is only viewed once a month, it’s likely to expire from your cache before anyone needs it again, which just adds unnecessary cost without any real benefit.
Thus, the ideal candidates for caching are those with high viewing rates, infrequent changes, and high processing costs.
Why Opt for ElastiCache Instead of Self-Hosted Solutions
When you build an app, one of the choices you’ll face is how to handle caching. You could configure your own Redis or Memcached servers or opt for Amazon’s ElastiCache service.
While managing your own system might seem like a viable option, ElastiCache offers a lot of advantages that are also worth considering. Here’s why teams prefer this managed service:
- Simplified management. With ElastiCache, you don’t have to deal with the daily operations of your cache servers. Your team won’t have to monitor systems around the clock, handle alerts at odd hours, and identify the root cause of a crashed node. Amazon manages all these tasks for you.
- Easy scaling. When you need more capacity, just a few clicks are enough to add resources. You can adjust your setup up or down based on real usage. And there won’t be any complicated procedures or downtime.
- Better reliability. Since ElastiCache runs across multiple data centers, if something goes wrong in one place, your cache will simply keep working smoothly from another location.
- Predictable costs. Self-hosted solutions might seem cheaper on paper, but hidden expenses like hardware, staff hours, monitoring tools, and potential outages can still add up. ElastiCache offers transparent pricing, and when you look at the full picture, it often ends up costing less overall.
ElastiCache Monitoring
When you manage your own caching system, you’ll typically have to set up monitoring tools like Prometheus, which means more work and added complexity. But with ElastiCache, monitoring happens automatically, and it’s another reason people choose Amazon’s managed service.
It comes with Amazon’s native CloudWatch, so you can track performance in real time without extra configurations. With its help, you can track several key metrics, such as:
- Latency
- Network
- Replication
- CPUUtilization
- CurrConnections
- Evictions
- EngineCPUUtilization
- Memory (Valkey and Redis OSS)
- Traffic Management (Valkey and Redis OSS)
- SwapUsage (Valkey and Redis OSS)
At IT Outposts, we always recommend not waiting for a problem to happen. It’s always better to stay ahead by setting up CloudWatch alerts for these metrics. This way, you can get notifications when your numbers get close to worrying levels.
Conclusion
Integrating ElastiCache into your application could be one of the smartest decisions you make this year. You don’t need to upgrade your entire system — just identify those parts that slow your operations down and implement caching where it makes the most impact.
Plus, as more apps shift to cloud-based setups with many small, specialized components, having good caching in place becomes even more critical.The truth is, nearly every modern app requires caching. The actual question is whether you want to build and manage that system yourself or trust Amazon to take care of it for you.
In any case, IT Outposts is ready to assist you in solving such problems, as high latency in database queries and slow application performance. Along with caching solutions, we have a range of tools to streamline your overall infrastructure operations.
One of our most comprehensive offerings is the fixed-price AMICSS package. AMICSS stands for Auto-scalable, Migration-ready, Cost-efficient, Secure, and Stable. It’s our prebuilt infrastructure combined with automated DevOps practices.
This package covers all the essentials, like infrastructure as code, multiple environments, VPC networking, Kubernetes, ElastiCache configurations, and much more. Reach out to our team to discover more about AMICSS and how we can align it with your business goals, current and future!
I am an IT professional with over 10 years of experience. My career trajectory is closely tied to strategic business development, sales expansion, and the structuring of marketing strategies.
Throughout my journey, I have successfully executed and applied numerous strategic approaches that have driven business growth and fortified competitive positions. An integral part of my experience lies in effective business process management, which, in turn, facilitated the adept coordination of cross-functional teams and the attainment of remarkable outcomes.
I take pride in my contributions to the IT sector’s advancement and look forward to exchanging experiences and ideas with professionals who share my passion for innovation and success.