Hazelcast vs Memcached: What are the differences?

Introduction

In this article, we will compare the key differences between Hazelcast and Memcached, two popular distributed caching solutions.

1. Data Model: Hazelcast is an in-memory data grid that allows storing and querying data using a distributed and scalable data model. It supports a wide range of data structures such as maps, queues, topics, and locks. On the other hand, Memcached is a key-value store that stores data in a simple key-value format without any additional data structures or query capabilities.

2. Data Persistence: Hazelcast provides native support for data persistence, allowing the caching of large datasets and high availability by persisting the data to disk. This ensures that data is not lost in case of a system failure or restart. In contrast, Memcached does not offer built-in data persistence. All the data is stored in memory and will be lost if the system crashes or restarts.

3. Distributed Computing: Hazelcast offers a wide range of distributed computing capabilities such as distributed processing, distributed task execution, and distributed computing paradigms like MapReduce. It allows developers to perform parallel computation on large datasets across a cluster of servers. Memcached, on the other hand, focuses solely on caching data and does not provide any distributed computing capabilities.

4. Client Libraries: Hazelcast provides client libraries for various programming languages, making it easy for developers to integrate Hazelcast into their applications. These client libraries provide a simple API to interact with the Hazelcast cluster. Memcached also offers client libraries for multiple programming languages, enabling seamless integration with applications.

5. Consistency Guarantees: Hazelcast provides strong consistency guarantees for data stored in the cluster. It ensures that data is always up to date and consistent across the cluster by using distributed locking and synchronization mechanisms. Memcached, on the other hand, does not provide any built-in consistency guarantees. It is eventually consistent and may not provide the latest data immediately after an update.

6. Cluster Management: Hazelcast includes advanced cluster management features, such as automatic discovery of cluster members, automatic failover and recovery, and dynamic scaling of the cluster. It provides tools and APIs for monitoring and managing the cluster effectively. Memcached, on the other hand, is more lightweight and does not provide extensive cluster management features. Cluster management needs to be implemented separately.

In Summary, Hazelcast is an in-memory data grid with advanced distributed computing capabilities, support for data persistence, strong consistency guarantees, and comprehensive cluster management features. Memcached, on the other hand, is a simpler key-value store focused on caching data without built-in data persistence, distributed computing, or extensive cluster management capabilities.