How do you document decisions and architecture for Remote caches?

Documenting decisions and architecture for remote caches is crucial for ensuring that your team's practices are consistent and that new team members can quickly understand the system. Below are key components to consider when creating documentation for remote caches.

1. Purpose of Remote Caches

Explain the primary objective of using remote caches in your infrastructure, such as improving performance, reducing load times, and optimizing resource usage.

2. Architectural Overview

Provide a diagram or description of the architecture that includes components like client applications, cache servers, and data sources. This should give a high-level view of how everything interacts.

3. Decision Rationale

Document the reasons for choosing a specific caching solution, such as Redis, Memcached, or a custom-built cache. Discuss pros and cons as well as any alternative solutions considered.

4. Configuration Details

Include specifics about configuration settings, such as cache size, eviction policies, and time-to-live (TTL) settings that are relevant for your implementation.

5. Performance Metrics

Outline key performance indicators that your team will monitor to ensure the cache is functioning optimally, such as cache hit ratio, latency, and response time.

6. Security Considerations

Document how authentication and authorization are handled in your cache implementation. Discuss encryption options and securing data in transit and at rest.

7. Maintenance and Troubleshooting

Provide guidance on regular maintenance tasks, such as clearing the cache or updating configurations, as well as troubleshooting common issues.

8. Conclusion

Wrap up with the importance of keeping this documentation updated as the system evolves and as new team members come on board. Encourage contributions from the team.

Example Documentation

<?php // Sample configuration settings for Redis cache $redis = new Redis(); $redis->connect('127.0.0.1', 6379); $redis->setOption(Redis::OPT_SERIALIZER, Redis::SERIALIZER_JSON); $redis->set('key', 'value', 3600); // Set with 1 hour TTL echo $redis->get('key'); ?>

remote caches caching architecture Redis cache configuration performance metrics security considerations documentation best practices