Definition
Keeping a copy of expensive-to-fetch data somewhere faster (memory, CDN) to cut latency and load.
How it works
The biggest single lever for read-heavy systems. Layers stack: browser → CDN → app/Redis → database. The hard parts are invalidation (keeping the copy fresh) and the cold-cache stampede. Set TTLs, choose a strategy (cache-aside, write-through), and decide what staleness you can tolerate.
Common questions
What is Caching?
Keeping a copy of expensive-to-fetch data somewhere faster (memory, CDN) to cut latency and load.
How does Caching work?
The biggest single lever for read-heavy systems. Layers stack: browser → CDN → app/Redis → database. The hard parts are invalidation (keeping the copy fresh) and the cold-cache stampede. Set TTLs, choose a strategy (cache-aside, write-through), and decide what staleness you can…
What is Caching used for in system design?
The biggest single lever for read-heavy systems. Layers stack: browser → CDN → app/Redis → database. The hard parts are invalidation (keeping the copy fresh) and the cold-cache stampede. Set TTLs, choose a strategy (cache-aside, write-through), and decide what staleness you can…