Software Design

Preventing Cache Stampede with Mutex Locks

UML Sequence Diagrams · made in Skemio

Sequence diagram demonstrating two threads handling expired cache keys using a Redis mutex lock.
Sequence diagram demonstrating two threads handling expired cache keys using a Redis mutex lock.
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What it shows

  • A cache stampede happens when concurrent requests all miss simultaneously.
  • A distributed mutex lets only one thread query the DB to rebuild the key.
  • Blocked threads sleep briefly and re-fetch from the newly primed cache.

The takeaway

Use distributed locks on key misses to shield databases from concurrent stampedes.

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