By offering scalable, reliable, and flexible services for applications, Amazon has never let us down. As a result, it has always placed itself on top in the market globally. And, now, with Amazon ElastiCache, it has taken its technology sector to another level. In terms of performance and speed, Amazon ElastiCache provides a managed in-memory data store that has compatibility with Redis or Memcached. This provides power real-time applications with sub-millisecond latency. However, this is not even a teaser. In this article, we will explore everything related to Amazon ElastiCache and its areas.
So, let,s begin with an overview of Amazon ElastiCache!
What is Amazon ElastiCache?
Amazon ElastiCache allows to logically set up, run, and scale the open-source compatible in-memory data stores in the cloud. This lets you build data-intensive apps or boost the performance of your existing databases by taking back data from high throughput and low latency in-memory data stores. Moreover, the Amazon ElastiCache has become a popular choice for real-time use cases that include,
- Caching
- Session Stores
- Gaming
- Geospatial Services
- Real-Time Analytics
- Queuing
Amazon ElastiCache offers Redis and Memcached. Let’s understand about them.
Redis
RedisRedis stands for Remote Dictionary Server that refers to a fast, open-source, in-memory key-value data store for use as a database, cache, message broker, and queue. It is responsible for delivering sub-millisecond response times enabling millions of requests per second for real-time applications in Gaming, Ad-Tech, Financial Services, Healthcare, and IoT. Moreover, this is a popular choice for caching, session management, gaming, leaderboards, real-time analytics, geospatial, ride-hailing, chat/messaging, media streaming, and pub/sub-apps.
Memcached
MemcachedMemcached is an easy-to-use and high-performing in-memory data store. This offers a scalable and open-source solution for delivering sub-millisecond response times. Thus, making it useful as a cache or session store. Moreover, this is the best choice for powering real-time applications in mobile Apps, Web, Gaming, E-Commerce, and Ad-Tech.
We will get to know more about Redis and Memcached below in the Amazon ElastiCache Engines.
Moving on, Now, we will be talking about what makes Amazon ElastiCache the first choice for most organizations.
Amazon ElastiCache: Features
- Firstly, Amazon ElastiCache provides extreme performance. That is to say, it works as an in-memory data store and cache. This is for supporting applications that need sub-millisecond response times. This performance is given by utilizing an end-to-end optimized stack running on customer dedicated nodes.
- Secondly, it is fully manageable. In this, there is no need for performing management tasks like hardware provisioning, software patching, setup, configuration, monitoring, failure recovery, and backups. Because it continuously monitors your clusters for keeping workloads up and running to get focus on higher-value application development.
- Lastly, Amazon ElastiCache is scalable. This can scale-out, scale-in, and scale-up for meeting differing application demands.
Now, we will be covering the Engines that Amazon ElastiCache offers. This is an important part of this article that will explain the major working areas of ElastiCache.
Amazon ElastiCache Engines
There are two Engines that Amazon ElasiCache provides:
1. Amazon ElastiCache for Redis
This is for building a simple, scalable caching layer for your data-intensive apps. Amazon ElastiCache for Redis refers to a fast in-memory data store that provides sub-millisecond latency for powering internet-scale real-time applications. This is built on open-source Redis and compatible with the Redis APIs.
Further, this also works with Redis clients. And, uses the open Redis data format for storing data. Secondly, it combines the speed, simplicity, and versatility of open-source Redis with manageability, security, and scalability from Amazon for powering the demanding real-time applications in Gaming, Ad-Tech, E-Commerce, Healthcare, Financial Services, and IoT.
Benefits:
- Amazon ElastiCache for Redis provides extreme performance by working as an in-memory data store for supporting the applications requiring sub-millisecond response times. This includes in-memory data stores that manage data in-memory thus providing blazing fast performance to support hundreds of millions of operations per second within a cluster.
- Secondly, this gives you the ability to create and manage users and user groups for setting up Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) for Redis commands. Moreover, you can simplify your architecture while maintaining security boundaries and take advantage of granular access control for managing groups. Here, the ElastiCache team keeps the Redis environment secure by continuously monitoring for known security vulnerabilities in open-source Redis, operating systems, and firmware.
- Thirdly, this is a fully manageable service. That is to say, there is no need to perform management tasks like hardware provisioning, software patching, setup, configuration, monitoring, failure recovery, and backups. As it keeps your Redis up and running for higher value application development by monitoring your clusters.
- Next, it supports both Redis cluster and non-cluster modes and provides high availability for automatic failover by detecting primary node failures. Moreover, it allows reading availability for your application by supporting read replicas. And, it also supports enhanced failover logic by allowing automatic failover in cases when the majority of the primary nodes for Redis cluster mode are not available.
- Lastly, using this you can easily scale your Redis data as your application grows. As it gives access to scale your Redis Cluster environment to 500 nodes and 500 shards. Moreover, it supports online cluster resizing for scaling-out and scaling-in Redis clusters without downtime and adapts to changing demand.
Working of Amazon ElastiCache for Redis
Use cases
Amazon ElastiCache for Redis is best for real-time transactional and analytical processing use cases that are:
1. Caching
Amazon ElastiCache for Redis is best for implementing a highly available, distributed, and secure in-memory cache. This is done for reducing the access latency, increasing throughput, and easing the load off your relational or NoSQL databases and applications. Moreover, this can serve frequently requested items at sub-millisecond response times and enables you to easily scale for higher loads without growing the costlier backend databases. Example of caching with ElastiCache for Redis includes database query results caching, persistent session caching, and full-page caching.
2. Chat and Messaging
Amazon ElastiCache for Redis has full support to PUB/SUB standards with pattern matching. This further supports high-performance chat rooms, real-time comment streams, and server intercommunication. Moreover, PUB/SUB can be used for triggering actions based on published events.
3. Gaming Leaderboards
Real-time gaming leaderboards can be easily created with Amazon ElastiCache for Redis. For this, use the Redis Sorted Set data structure that provides uniqueness of elements while maintaining the list sorted by their scores. Moreover, you can use Sorted Sets for handling time-series data by using timestamps as the score.
4. Geospatial
Amazon ElastiCache for Redis in Geospatial use cases provides built-in-memory data structures and operators for managing real-time geospatial data at scale and speed. Moreover, you can use ElastiCache for Redis for adding location-based features like drive time, drive distance, and points of interest to your applications.
5. Machine Learning
Amazon ElastiCache for Redis provides a quick in-memory data store for creating and deploying machine learning models. For this, best use cases include fraud detection in gaming and financial services, real-time bidding in ad-tech, and matchmaking in dating and ride-sharing to process live data and making decisions within tens of milliseconds.
6. Media Streaming
Amazon ElastiCache for Redis offers a fast, in-memory data store for powering live streaming use cases. Further, this can be used for,
- Firstly, storing metadata for user-profiles
- Secondly, for viewing history
- Thirdly, authentication information/tokens for millions of users
- Lastly, manifesting files for enabling CDNs to stream videos to millions of mobile and desktop users at a time.
7. Queues
Amazon ElastiCache for Redis provides a List data structure for implementing a lightweight and constant queue. Further, the Lists offer atomic operations and blocking capabilities. This is processed by making them suitable for a variety of applications in need of a reliable message broker or a circular list.
8. Real-time Analytics
Use Amazon ElastiCache for Redis with streaming solutions like Apache Kafka and Amazon Kinesis as an in-memory data store for ingesting, processing, and analyzing real-time data with sub-millisecond latency. However, ElastiCache is an ideal choice for real-time analytics use cases like social media, ad targeting, personalization, and IoT and time-series data analytics.
9. Session Store
Amazon ElastiCache for Redis is a session store for managing session information like user authentication tokens, session state, and more. Further, you can use ElastiCache for Redis as a fast key-value store with appropriate TTL on session keys. This is for managing session information. However, session management is commonly needed for online applications, including games, e-commerce websites, and social media platforms.
2. Amazon ElastiCache for Memcached
Amazon ElastiCache for Memcached refers to a compatible in-memory key-value store service for caching or storing data. This provides the performance, ease of use, and simplicity of Memcached. Moreover, ElastiCache for Memcached is fully managed, scalable, and secure for use cases in which accessed data must be in-memory. Memcached is the best choice for use cases like Web, Mobile Apps, Gaming, Ad-Tech, and E-Commerce.
Benefits:
- Amazon ElastiCache for Memcached Is an in-memory data store and cache for supporting the highly demanding applications that have a requirement of sub-millisecond response times. Amazon ElastiCache provides you with a secure, blazing-fast performance by utilizing an end-to-end optimized stack running on customer dedicated nodes.
- Secondly, it supports Amazon VPC, which enables you to isolate your cluster to the IP ranges that you choose for your nodes for connecting to your application.
- Thirdly, it is a largely adopted memory object caching system. Moreover, ElastiCache is compliant with Memcached in which all popular tools will work seamlessly.
- Next, it includes sharding for scaling in-memory cache that goes up to 20 nodes and 12.7 TiB per cluster.
- It is fully manageable so there no need to perform management tasks like hardware provisioning, software patching, setup, configuration, monitoring, and failure recovery.
- Lastly, ElastiCache for Memcached Cluster Client with Auto Discovery saves time by simplifying the application way of connecting to a Memcached cluster.
Working of ElastiCache for Memcached
Use cases
1. Caching
Amazon ElastiCache for Memcached is best for implementing an in-memory cache for decreasing access latency, increase throughput, and ease the load off your relational or NoSQL database. Moreover, this can serve frequently requested items at sub-millisecond response times thus, enabling you to easily scale for higher loads without growing the costlier backend database layer. The example includes database query results caching, persistent session caching, and full-page caching.
2. Session Store
Session stores can be easily created with Amazon ElastiCache for Memcached. Use the Memcached hash table that can be distributed across multiple nodes. However, scaling the session store is as easy as adding a node and also updating the clients to take advantage of the new node.
Above, we have understood the major areas and uses of the Amazon ElastiCache. Now, let’s understand the pricing department to get more clarity on this.
Amazon ElastiCache: Pricing
Amazon has a policy for pricing that states that you pay only for what you use and there is no minimum fee. However, there are various nodes in the Amazon ElastiCache pricing. Let’s understand about them.
1. On-Demand Nodes
- Firstly, On-Demand Nodes let you pay for memory capacity by the hour your node runs with having no long-term commitments.
- Secondly, this frees you from the costs and complexities of planning, purchasing, and maintaining hardware and transforms. This helps in converting large fixed costs into much smaller variable costs.
2. Reserved Nodes
With Reserved Nodes, you have access to choose to make a,
- Firstly, one-time up-front payment
- Secondly, no upfront payment, and pay low by hourly charges
- Thirdly, one-time upfront payment with lower hourly charges for every node you want to reserve for a one or three-year term.
However, in return, you will receive a significant discount on the ongoing hourly usage rate for the node(s) you reserve. Secondly, you may designate cache nodes as Reserved Nodes by calling the Purchasing API or selecting the Reserved Node option in the AWS console. And, when you designate a cache node as Reserved Node then you have to designate a region, cache node type, Reserved Node type as well as the quantity for the applicable Reserved Node. Because the Reserved Node may only be used in the designated region.
3. Backup Storage
Backup storage is associated with the automated and user-initiated snapshots you have taken. Amazon ElastiCache provides storage space for one snapshot that is free of cost for each active ElastiCache for Redis cluster. Where additional backup storage is $0.085/GB every month. In this, the data transfer for using the snapshots is free of cost.
4. Data Transfer
Data Transfer within a region
Amazon ElastiCache offers strong network-level security by providing access/data transfer only from or to the Amazon EC2 Instances that you will define as part of your Security Groups.
- Firstly, within the same Availability Zone, there is no charge for data transfer between Amazon EC2 and Amazon ElastiCache.
- Secondly, while standard Amazon EC2 Regional Data Transfer charges of $0.01 per GB in/out apply. However, you are only charged for the Data Transfer in or out of the Amazon EC2 instance when transferring data between an Amazon EC2 instance and an Amazon ElastiCache Node in different Availability Zones of the same Region. Moreover, there is no Amazon ElastiCache Data Transfer cost or any charge for traffic in or out of the Amazon ElastiCache Node.
- Lastly, as part of AWS’s Free Usage Tier, new AWS customers will receive a free data transfer of 15 GB. This will be given out each month across all AWS services for one year.
Already! Liking Amazon ElastiCache? Yes, then below we will be talking about the migration part of Amazon ElastiCache and how to start using it.
Migrate to Amazon ElastiCache
Migrating to Amazon ElastiCache will make it easy for managing, scale, and set up distributed in-memory cache environments in AWS Cloud. Moreover, it gives high performance, resizable, and cost-effective in-memory cache. Amazon ElastiCache has the ability to work with both the Redis and Memcached cache engines as we discussed above.
Migration guides
Check out the migration guides to get a better understanding of this.
Online Migrations
- Firstly, Migrating from self-hosted Redis in Cluster-Mode Disabled to Amazon ElastiCache for Redis
- Secondly, Migration best practices and hands-on demo
- Lastly, Migration preparation and hands-on demo
Offline Migrations
Still not impressed with Amazon ElastiCache? Don’t worry! Check the popular customers who have migrated to Amazon ElastiCache.
Top Customers
The Pokemon Company
- The Pokémon Company migrated its user caching to Amazon ElastiCache to get the advantage of both Redis and Memcached. Where Redis queues tasks for new users for completing post-authentication tasks like accepting terms and conditions. On the other hand, Memcached helps keep tickets live so that there is no interruption in existing users’ sessions when new users join.
Peloton
- Peloton which is a home fitness company is now dependent on Amazon ElastiCache for Redis for powering its on-demand and live leaderboard. However, for delivering customizable rider data, Peloton’s leaderboard requires high elasticity, low latency, and real-time processing. This data is for the community of users managing together virtually from their home.
Airbnb
- ElastiCache helps this company to focus on the core of our business. As the operations team consists of only two full-time engineers. However, running a site like Airbnb with such a small team would be impossible without services like ElastiCache.
Tinder
- Tinder uses Amazon ElastiCache for Redis for improving the scalability and stability of its dating app that powers more than 30 billion matches. Using this fully managed service, the teams at Tinder can focus on innovation.
Ready to Start?
Get started with Amazon ElastiCache
Firstly, Sign up with AWS and get access to the Amazon ElastiCache Free Tier.
Secondly, use simple tutorials to enhance your learning. Then, explore the process of creating a Redis cluster.
Lastly, start building by using the ElastiCache guide.
Final Words
Amazon ElastiCache is a fully managed in-memory data store with having compatibility with both Redis or Memcached. This is the one-time solution for handling real-time applications with sub-millisecond latency. By using the power of various use cases, Amazon ElastiCache is popular amongst the top leading companies. So, what you are waiting for? Register yourself for Amazon and start building using the Amazon ElastiCache Guide.
