Amazon ElastiCache
In-memory caching to accelerate application and database performance with sub-millisecond latency.
Latency
Sub-millisecond
Compatible Engines
Redis, Memcached, Valkey
Free Tier
750 hours/month (t2.micro)
About Amazon ElastiCache
Amazon ElastiCache is a web service that simplifies the process of setting up, managing, and scaling a distributed in-memory cache environment in the cloud. It provides a high-performance, resizable, and cost-effective in-memory cache, while removing the complexity associated with deploying and managing a distributed cache environment. ElastiCache is compatible with both Redis and Memcached engines, and now Valkey, allowing you to use popular open-source caching software. It's designed to accelerate application and database performance for read-heavy workloads, common in use cases such as social networking, gaming, media sharing, and Q&A portals, by caching frequently accessed data.
Core Features
Fully Managed
Automates common management tasks such as hardware provisioning, software patching, setup, configuration, monitoring, and failure recovery.
Scalability
Allows you to scale your cache from a single node up to a cluster with multiple shards and replicas.
High Availability
Supports automatic failover from your primary to a replica in the event of a primary node failure (for Redis).
Security
Runs within Amazon VPC, allowing you to isolate your cluster to the IP ranges you choose for your application servers.
Supported Cache Engines
Redis
A fast, open-source, in-memory data store and cache. ElastiCache for Redis is a Redis-compatible in-memory service.
Memcached
A widely adopted memory object caching system. ElastiCache is fully compliant with Memcached.
Valkey
An open-source, high-performance in-memory data structure store, forked from Redis.
Common Use Cases
Database Caching
Offload read traffic from your primary database to an in-memory cache to reduce latency and improve application throughput.
Session Store
Store user session data for fast retrieval, enabling scalable and persistent session management for web applications.
Real-Time Analytics
Power real-time applications like gaming leaderboards, voting systems, and real-time dashboards.
Message Brokering
Use Redis pub/sub capabilities for high-speed messaging between application components.