The Backend Engineering Show with Hussein Nasser
Cloudflare's 150ms global cache purge | Deep Dive
Oct 18, 2024
Discover how Cloudflare revolutionized its CDN caching with a global cache purge that executes in under 150 ms. The shift from a centralized lazy purge to a decentralized active system showcases remarkable engineering feats. Explore the intricacies of RockDB, peer-to-peer data structures, and how these innovations address previous limitations. Delve into the performance implications of LSM versus BTree and unpack the benefits of immediate purge requests. This deep dive reveals the complexities and clever strategies behind cutting-edge backend engineering.
01:02:21
AI Summary
AI Chapters
Episode notes
Podcast summary created with Snipd AI
Quick takeaways
- Cloudflare transitioned from a slow, centralized lazy purge system to a fast, decentralized active purge model, improving performance.
- The introduction of RocksDB for local cache management enhances Cloudflare's ability to efficiently handle purge requests and maintain low latency.
Deep dives
Evolution of Cloudflare's CDN System
Cloudflare has transformed from a basic content delivery network (CDN) into a robust multifaceted service, maintaining its core function while expanding its capabilities. The podcast emphasizes the challenges faced by Cloudflare in managing cached content effectively, particularly how they deal with purging stale content on demand. When cached content expires or is evicted, Cloudflare fetches fresh copies from the backend, which represents the complex interaction within its CDN structure. This global network reduces latency by serving users from local caches, enhancing efficiency significantly.
Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts
Save insights instantly, chat with episodes, and build lasting knowledge - all powered by AI.
