What are some alternatives to ARC caching?

What are some alternatives to ARC caching?

There are several alternatives to ARC caching, including LRU (Least Recently Used), LFU (Least Frequently Used), and LIRS (Low Inter-reference Recency Set). Each has its own advantages depending on the use case.

Can you explain how LRU works?

LRU keeps track of the order in which items are accessed. When the cache reaches its limit, it evicts the least recently used item to make space for new data.

What about LFU? How does it differ from LRU?

LFU evicts the least frequently used items instead of the least recently used. This means it prioritizes keeping items that are accessed more often, regardless of when they were last accessed.

Are there any specific scenarios where one is better than the other?

Yes, LRU is often better for workloads with temporal locality, while LFU can be more effective for workloads with stable access patterns over time.