ElastiCache is AWS's managed in-memory caching service — running Redis or Memcached to cache frequently-accessed data for fast retrieval. Combined with other caching layers (CloudFront, DAX), caching is a key technique for improving AWS application performance and reducing database load.
ElastiCache — managed in-memory caching
ElastiCache runs managed REDIS or MEMCACHED clusters:
→ store frequently-accessed data in memory → sub-millisecond retrieval (very fast)
→ REDUCE LOAD on databases (serve from cache instead of querying the DB)
→ AWS manages it (setup, patching, scaling, failover) — no servers to run
Redis → rich data structures, persistence, replication, HA (Multi-AZ) — the common choice
Memcached → simpler, multi-threaded, pure caching
