Cache consistency when using memcached and a rdbms like MySQL

Question

I have taken a database class this semester and we are studying about maintaining cache consistency between the RDBMS and a cache server such as memcached. The consistency issue

Answer 1

This article gives you an interesting note on how Facebook (tries to) maintain cache consistency : http://www.25hoursaday.com/weblog/2008/08/21/HowFacebookKeepsMemcachedConsistentAcrossGeoDistributedDataCenters.aspx

Here's a gist from the article.

1. I update my first name from "Jason" to "Monkey"
2. We write "Monkey" in to the master database in California and delete my first name from memcache in California but not Virginia
3. Someone goes to my profile in Virginia
4. We find my first name in memcache and return "Jason"
5. Replication catches up and we update the slave database with my first name as "Monkey." We also delete my first name from Virginia memcache because that cache object showed up in the replication stream
6. Someone else goes to my profile in Virginia
7. We don't find my first name in memcache so we read from the slave and get "Monkey"