Stop Operating a Separate Redis Cache

If Redis holds data your application can rebuild, put that cache beside the application and remove the separate cache tier once the new path is validated.

Each application Pod gets a Swytch sidecar. The client connects over localhost; the application’s source of truth remains responsible for rebuilding missing data.

1. Follow the Kubernetes quickstart with one application replica.
2. Configure the client for 127.0.0.1:6379 and preserve its cache-miss fallback.
3. Test hit rate, latency, memory pressure, and cold-start load.
4. Add replicas and validate any shared keys.
5. Cut over through the migration guide before removing Redis.

Losing the only holder loses memory-only data. Bound concurrent refills so a rollout does not overwhelm the source of truth. Add tiering if refill cost or state retention requires it.

The sidecar still needs CPU and memory. Use sizing and the cost examples to check whether this removes infrastructure cost for your workload.