The Caching Trap: Why More Isn't Always Better

Picture this horror story: You update a user's profile photo, but it still shows the old photo everywhere for hours. Users are confused, support tickets flood in. What went wrong?

You fell into the Over-Caching Trap!

The photo was cached at 5 different levels:

• Browser cache
• CDN
• Load balancer
• Application cache (Redis)
• Database computed column

The Invalidation Nightmare: To update one photo, you now need to:

1. Clear browser cache (impossible to force)
2. Invalidate CDN cache
3. Clear load balancer cache
4. Delete from Redis
5. Update database column

What if one fails? Users see different photos depending on how they access your site!

The Golden Rule:

"Just because you CAN cache everywhere doesn't mean you SHOULD."

Smart Caching Strategy:

• Pick ONE or TWO strategic caching layers
• Cache static content at CDN
• Cache dynamic data in Redis
• Don't cache the same thing everywhere

Key Insight: "More cache layers = More complexity. Choose your battles and cache strategically, not everywhere!"

Think of caching like salt in cooking - a little enhances the flavor, too much ruins the dish!