Redis Object Cache in Web Hosting

[SharedGrid]

There seems to be quite a bit of a stir in some other places online regarding Redis Cache and how some web hosting control panels offer this for no extra charge, some don't support it at all, and there are third party plugins which are charging per account to enable Redis Cache.

For example, cPanel doesn't natively support Redis Cache but (as far as I understand) it seems as though cPanel + CloudLinux + AccelerateWP Premium gives a web host the option to enable Redis Cache but on a per account basis and it's chargeable.

It would be good to hear the opinions from customers of web hosts, and from web hosts around their experiences of Redis in standard PHP/MariaDB/MySQL or WordPress hosting, did it work for you? Did you see much of a performance improvement?

My personal opinion is that as long as the server hardware & software configuration and website is optimised then there is little benefit to using Redis on a standard website. We've seen either no benefit or very marginal benefit to most WordPress websites by enabling it. I haven't used it on a very un-optimised website though, so maybe someone has better experience in this?

Would a user consider moving web hosts if their current one didn't have the option of Redis Cache, but a different host did offer Redis Cache with the same specs & pricing?

 

[adam12]

I've used it occasionally. In recent memory, on a _very_ large WooCommerce install.

Typically during my work in software development, Redis is very frequently used to bandaid over a bad query, so in similar manner with WordPress, I start looking for those. This is especially important on MySQL/MariaDB where the key arity of a compound index can make a huge difference with the query planner.

I don't think it should be a default reach, and it comes with drawbacks that maybe people just gloss over (network conditions, cache invalidation, latency, etc etc).

 

[SharedGrid]

Typically during my work in software development, Redis is very frequently used to bandaid over a bad query, so in similar manner with WordPress, I start looking for those.

Good point, I have seen similar cases previously where Redis was used to mask underlying inefficiencies rather than fixing the underlying problem.

I don't think most people consider the latency, especially if using Redis over TCP. It's not going to add that much latency but if the queries and database are already fully optimised then the only thing Redis will do is have no impact or even make things worse.

It doesn't help matters when some so called 'performance analyser' plugins for WordPress are recommending an Object Cache straight out the box without any actual analysis, I feel as though for 90% of WordPress websites it's just not needed but we've definitely seen a lot more chatter about Redis and WordPress recently and more people asking about it.

 

[nisha_bullten]

Redis Object Cache is a powerful web hosting tool that stores frequently accessed data into memory. It reduces the number of times the database is queried, which results in faster page loading and a smoother experience for the user.

When implemented, Redis can handle large amounts of data efficiently, making it ideal for high-traffic websites. Additionally, Redis provides persistence options to prevent the loss of cached data during server restarts.

Redis Object Cache can be used by installing Redis on the server and configuring your website (or CMS) to make use of it. Redis is supported by many web hosts, but for complete control, you may require a VPS/dedicated server.

Redis Object Cache can be a very effective tool to increase website speed and scalability. This is especially true for sites that have complex queries or high traffic.

 

[Greenhost.cloud]

While Redis Cache can offer improvements in specific scenarios, I've found that the overall impact varies based on each website's unique setup and optimization. If someone is running a very resource-intensive site and sees a competitor offering Redis as part of their package, that could be a tempting reason to switch hosts for sure!

 

[cservers]

I've attempted to implement Redis, but on the websites/servers I've tested it didn't see much of an improvement. Sincerely saw a much more relevant improvement with Memcached in cache hit and memory management, for example.

Especially Nginx + Memcached, which we've tried, is very fast. Quite comparable to LiteSpeed, minus the extra resource usage and the Wordpress/Apache pitfall.

 

[SharedGrid]

Sincerely saw a much more relevant improvement with Memcached in cache hit and memory management, for example.

I guess we will see more usage of Memcached going forward in web hosting with the changes to the Redis Cache licensing a few month ago, once the current versioning goes EOL.

 

[cservers]

I guess we will see more usage of Memcached going forward in web hosting with the changes to the Redis Cache licensing a few month ago, once the current versioning goes EOL.

I'm not aware of those changes, have they stopped being GPL or is it going paid?

 

[SharedGrid]

I'm not aware of those changes, have they stopped being GPL or is it going paid?

They switched to a dual license model, so anything prior to 7.4 you can use as you were however, any newer releases are now part of the dual license model. It's still free to use unless you offer Redis as a service (i.e. make money off it) then you will need to pay.

 

[cservers]

They switched to a dual license model, so anything prior to 7.4 you can use as you were however, any newer releases are now part of the dual license model. It's still free to use unless you offer Redis as a service (i.e. make money off it) then you will need to pay.

Interesting. And they do this well knowing the competition they have...

Eventually they'll understand it may not be the best move.

 

[SharedGrid]

Eventually they'll understand it may not be the best move.

Well, it is still open source so even if there's no budge in the decision they have made, hopefully someone (a group) will fork the code. There's still quite a bit of time before the current version goes EOL so who knows what will happen in that time.

Definitely something to keep an eye on though.

 

[cservers]

Well, it is still open source so even if there's no budge in the decision they have made, hopefully someone (a group) will fork the code. There's still quite a bit of time before the current version goes EOL so who knows what will happen in that time.

Definitely something to keep an eye on though.

Either way, it's not like we don't have solutions as well, so not a big deal...