memorybacked
Memorybacked describes storage or systems that primarily use volatile memory (RAM) as the data medium rather than persistent storage such as disks. In practice, memorybacked components include memory-backed file systems, caches, and databases that keep their working data in RAM. Because RAM is volatile, data stored in a memorybacked form is typically lost when power is removed unless external persistence mechanisms are added. The term is often written as memory-backed or memory backed, while memorybacked is a less common single-word variant.
Common implementations include Linux’s tmpfs and ramfs, which mount as in-memory file systems; in-memory databases such
Characteristics of memorybacked systems include very low latency and high throughput due to data locality, and
Common use cases include caching session data and web content, real-time analytics and simulations that fit