● Current Problems with 6-Layer Caching:
❌ Issues:
- Cache invalidation nightmare - need to clear 6 different caches
- Debugging complexity - 404 could be cached anywhere
- Resource waste - Nginx + Next.js caching same content
- Stale data confusion - different TTLs causing inconsistency
- Redis unused - most powerful cache layer sitting idle
❌ Specific Redundancies:
- Nginx (2min) + Next.js (24hr) both caching dynamic pages
- Django locmem + Redis both available for backend caching
- Browser + CDN both doing static asset caching
Proposed Elegant 3-Layer Architecture:
🎯 RECOMMENDED: Streamlined 3-Layer Solution
┌─────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐
│ CLOUDFLARE │ │ REDIS │ │ BROWSER │
│ (CDN Edge) │ │ (Application) │ │ (Client) │
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ • Static Assets │ │ • Dynamic Pages │ │ • Static Only │
│ • Global Edge │ │ • API Responses │ │ • Short TTL │
│ • 30 days │ │ • 1-15 minutes │ │ • 1 hour max │
└─────────────────┘ └─────────────────┘ └─────────────────┘
Layer Responsibilities:
1. Cloudflare CDN (Edge Layer)
- Static assets only (JS, CSS, images, fonts)
- Long TTL (30 days) with proper versioning
- Global distribution
- DDoS protection + security
2. Redis (Application Layer)
- Dynamic page content
- API responses
- Database query results
- Smart invalidation with tags
- Shared across all app workers
3. Browser (Client Layer)
- Minimal caching (1 hour max)
- Relies on CDN for statics
- No dynamic content caching