Building Resilient Applications with SQLite Caching

In robust application architecture, caching is not just about speed—it's about reliability. While distributed caches like Redis are industry standards, they introduce external dependencies that can complicate straightforward deployments or edge computing scenarios.

To address this, the engineering team at Proxfield developed the SQLite Cache Extension for .NET, a solution that brings persistence and reliability to local application caching.

The Persistence Problem

Standard in-memory caches are volatile. If your application restarts—whether due to a deployment, a crash, or a server reboot—your "warm" cache is instantly cold. This leads to:

• Performance Spikes: The underlying database gets hammered with requests immediately after a restart.
• Poor User Experience: First users experience slow loads while the cache rebuilds.

The Solution: Durable Local Caching

By leveraging SQLite as a backing store for the standard Microsoft caching interfaces, we created a solution that blends the best of both worlds:

1. Persistence: Data survives application restarts.
2. Simplicity: No extra servers to manage. It runs right alongside your app.
3. Cost Efficiency: Perfect for scenarios where a full Redis cluster is overkill.

Engineering for Stability

This project highlights our approach to software engineering: Right Tool for the Right Job. We don't just default to the most popular expensive tools; we analyze the architectural needs.

We implemented widely used design patterns, including Dependency Injection support, making this extension a plug-and-play solution for any enterprise .NET application.

It's one of the many ways Proxfield ensures that the systems we build are not just fast, but robust and cost-effective.