Memcached - Authenticated Distributed Cache Server

This is a repackaged open source software product wherein additional charges apply for cloudimg support services.

## Memcached - Production-Ready Distributed Cache by cloudimg

Memcached is the high-performance, open-source distributed memory object caching system used by web frameworks, APIs, and high-traffic services to offload database load and accelerate dynamic web applications. This AMI delivers Memcached fully installed, authenticated, and configured so you have a working, secure cache server within minutes of launch.

## Why This Image Instead of Alternatives

Stock Memcached ships with no authentication - any client that can reach port 11211 can read and write your cache. Most competing AMIs use shared default passwords that are identical across every deployment. This image solves both problems: SASL PLAIN authentication is compiled in and required by default, and every instance generates its own unique credentials on first boot. Unlike AWS ElastiCache, you retain full control over SASL configuration, instance placement, and OS-level tuning.

## What Is Included

• Memcached from the OS package repository with SASL PLAIN authentication compiled in and required
• cyrus-sasl2 plumbing for credential management
• libmemcached-tools client utilities (memcstat, memcset, memcget)
• python3-pylibmc client library for Python integration
• nginx healthcheck shim on port 80 for AWS load balancer and scanner probes
• Memcached service enabled, starts on boot, listens on 11211

## Integrations

This image works with the tools and services your team already uses:

• AWS Services: Deploy within Amazon VPC for network isolation, place behind an Application Load Balancer using the nginx healthcheck on port 80, and monitor with Amazon CloudWatch custom metrics.
• Web Frameworks: Compatible with Django (django-pymemcache), Ruby on Rails (dalli gem), Laravel (Memcached cache driver), and Express/Node.js (memjs) - any SASL-aware client library connects immediately.
• Databases: Use as a read-through cache layer in front of Amazon RDS, MySQL, or PostgreSQL to reduce query load during traffic spikes.

## Secure First Boot

On every instance's first boot, a one-shot service generates a fresh SASL PLAIN password for the cloudimg user, writes it to the SASL credential database, and records it in a root-only file at /root/memcached-credentials.txt. No shared or default credentials ship in the image.

## Network Posture

Memcached listens on 0.0.0.0:11211 so application servers in your VPC can connect. Restrict the inbound security group rule to your application CIDR before deploying real workloads. The nginx healthcheck shim serves a static response on port 80 for AWS Marketplace scanners and external load balancers; customer traffic uses port 11211.

## Ready To Use

Connect over SSH, read the generated credentials from /root/memcached-credentials.txt, and immediately start storing and retrieving objects with memcset/memcget or any SASL-aware client library.

## Example Use Case: E-Commerce Catalog Caching

An e-commerce platform running Django behind an ALB experiences database saturation during flash sales as thousands of concurrent users query the same product catalog. By routing repeated catalog queries through this Memcached instance, the team eliminates redundant database reads, keeps sub-millisecond GET latency on cached items, and maintains responsive page loads even at peak traffic - all with authenticated access that prevents cache poisoning from rogue clients in the VPC.

## Additional Use Cases

• Session storage for web applications (replacing sticky sessions or shared database tables)
• API response caching for high-traffic microservices
• Rate limiter counters and ephemeral key-value state
• Database query result caching to reduce read replica load

## Get Started

Launch the AMI, retrieve your unique credentials, and connect your application's Memcached client. For a guided sizing consultation or security review, contact cloudimg support - available 24/7 by email and chat.

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