January 26, 2023
Distributed Systems System Design Interview
Caching is a method of storing frequently-used data in an easily-retrievable format. It is used to improve the performance of applications by reducing the amount of data that must be retrieved from remote sources, such as databases or web services.
A caching system typically consists of a cache server, which stores the data, and a cache client, which retrieves the data. The cache server can be either a dedicated hardware device or a software system running on a server. The cache client can be either a piece of software that runs on the same machine as the cache server or a separate piece of software that accesses the cache server over a network.
The cache server stores data in a structure called a cache, which is essentially a key-value store. The key is typically a unique identifier for the data, and the value is the actual data. This data is stored in the cache for a certain period of time, after which it is automatically deleted or refreshed.
When a request for data is made, the cache client first checks the cache for the data. If the data is present, it is served directly from the cache, and the request is completed. If the data is not present in the cache, the cache client will then make a request to the remote source for the data. Once the data is retrieved, it is stored in the cache for future requests.
Caching can be used to improve the performance of applications in a variety of ways. For example, it can reduce the amount of data that must be retrieved from remote sources, reduce the amount of time it takes to retrieve data, and reduce the amount of network traffic generated by requests. Additionally, caching can be used to improve the scalability of applications, as the cache can store data that is frequently requested, allowing the application to handle more requests without having to retrieve the data from the remote source.
*** Created by ChatGPT on Jan 26, 2023.
