Debugging Cache Stampedes
How to recognize and contain request spikes when cached data expires.
Pattern
Many callers miss cache at once and regenerate the same expensive value.
warningSymptoms
- arrow_rightLatency jumps at predictable intervals
- arrow_rightDatabase or upstream pool saturation
- arrow_rightRetries make the spike worse
searchWhere to look
- arrow_rightCache TTLs
- arrow_rightLock or single-flight guards
- arrow_rightFallback behavior
- arrow_rightHot key metrics
buildCommon fixes
- arrow_rightAdd request coalescing
- arrow_rightStagger TTLs
- arrow_rightServe stale while revalidating
- arrow_rightProtect upstream calls