Memcached is designed to store data in memory using a simple key-value pair structure. This enables fast access to frequently accessed data, making it suitable for caching.
Memcached operates in a distributed manner, allowing multiple Memcached servers to work together as a single logical cache. This distributed architecture improves scalability and reliability.
Memcached supports setting expiration times for cached items. This allows data to be automatically removed from the cache after a specified period, helping to manage memory usage and ensure data freshness.
When the cache reaches its capacity, Memcached uses a Least Recently Used (LRU) eviction policy to remove older or less frequently accessed items from the cache, making room for new data.
Memcached is known for its high performance, with low latency access to cached data. It achieves this by storing data in memory and utilizing efficient data structures and algorithms for lookups and storage.
Memcached supports a simple, text-based protocol for interacting with the cache. This protocol allows clients to perform operations such as setting, getting, and deleting key-value pairs from the cache.
Memcached is commonly used in web applications to cache database queries, API responses, and other frequently accessed data. By caching this data, applications can reduce database load and improve overall performance.
Memcached has client libraries available for various programming languages, including Python, Java, PHP, and more. This makes it easy to integrate Memcached into different types of applications.
Memcached supports clustering and replication, allowing multiple Memcached servers to be grouped together for improved scalability and fault tolerance.
Memcached is an open-source project and is freely available for download and use. This makes it accessible to developers and organizations looking to implement caching solutions in their applications.