Minnecache

Minnecache is a distributed in-memory caching system designed to provide low-latency access to frequently requested data for modern web applications. It is built to operate in data centers and cloud environments, emphasizing high throughput, fault tolerance, and simple integration with existing services.

The core components include a cache server cluster, language-specific client libraries, and a lightweight orchestration layer. Keys are distributed across the cluster using a consistent hashing scheme, which minimizes rebalancing when nodes join or leave. Optional data replication increases availability, at the cost of extra memory usage.

Minnecache supports multiple eviction policies, such as least-recently-used and least-frequently-used, and allows per-entry TTLs to ensure stale data is not retained. Data can be persisted to local storage or a distributed log for crash recovery, depending on configuration. The system provides metrics and observability hooks for monitoring performance.

APIs are designed to be developer-friendly, with client libraries available for major languages and a RESTful HTTP interface for simple integration. The architecture enables read-through and write-through caching patterns, as well as direct key-value access for application code.

Security and operations are addressed through TLS encryption in transit, token-based authentication, and role-based access controls. Clusters can be deployed on-premises or in public clouds, and integrate with existing runtime environments via standard service discovery and configuration management tools.

Minnecache is an open-source project with ongoing development and community contributions. It competes with established caching systems by focusing on simplicity, predictable latency, and integration ease for mid-sized deployments.