If we were building a script-based application (say in Python or PHP) and we require a data caching service, probably one of the first systems that we will consider is memcache. Such a system is both incredibly fast and remarkably simple, but it is this simplicity that brings with it some drawbacks. Currently, to provide resilience or replication, we have to either handle this on the client side or overlay another system on top of the default memcache to provide transparent scaling or data sharding. However, either way, we are exposing some consistency or resiliency risks, particularly in the case of node failure or fallover.

However, one of its greatest strengths is the extent of its client libraries, with no fewer than 10 different technology stacks catered for. Drawing upon these benefits, Hazelcast has sought to provide a compatible alternative to exposing a memcache API service from each of the Hazelcast cluster nodes. As each of the nodes exposes access to the whole cluster...