Implementing Cache-Aside in a Spring Boot Application

Caching is a powerful technique that can significantly improve the performance and responsiveness of applications by reducing the need to repeatedly fetch data from slower data sources, such as databases. In scenarios where data is frequently read and less frequently updated, implementing caching strategies can lead to substantial performance gains. One popular caching strategy is Cache-Aside, also known as lazy loading, which involves using a cache to store frequently accessed data, thereby avoiding unnecessary hits to the primary data store. In this article, we’ll explore how to implement Cache-Aside in a Spring Boot application using Redis as the caching solution.

Understanding Cache-Aside

Cache-Aside, or lazy loading, is a caching strategy where the application itself is responsible for managing the cache. The primary data store, such as a database, is accessed only when the cache doesn’t contain the required data. This approach ensures that only requested data is cached, preventing the cache from becoming cluttered with data that isn’t frequently used.

The Cache-Aside process can be summarized in the following steps:

1. The application checks the cache for the required data. If the data is not found in the cache (a cache miss), the application proceeds to the…