Scaling a Node.js Application with Distributed Caching: Part 3 - Hazelcast

In the second part of this series, we explored how to scale a Node.js application using distributed caching with Memcached. Now, let's take a look at another popular caching solution - Hazelcast.

Introduction to Hazelcast

Hazelcast is an open-source, in-memory data grid based on Java. It provides distributed data structures and computation services for your applications, allowing you to share and partition your data across a cluster of machines.

Why Choose Hazelcast?

Hazelcast offers a set of distributed data structures and services that are highly available and extremely scalable. It's a great choice for applications that require a high volume of reads and writes, as well as those that need to maintain state across multiple servers.

Setting Up Hazelcast

To use Hazelcast in a Node.js application, you need to install the hazelcast-client package. You can do this using the following command:

npm install hazelcast-client

After installing the hazelcast-client package, you can use it in your application like this:

const { Client } = require('hazelcast-client');

// Create a Hazelcast client
const client = await Client.newHazelcastClient();

// Get a distributed map
const map = await client.getMap('my-distributed-map');

// Put and get a value from the map
await map.put('key', 'value');
const value = await map.get('key');
console.log(value); // 'value'

In the above code, we first require the hazelcast-client package and then create a new Hazelcast client. We then get a distributed map and put a key-value pair in the map. After that, we retrieve the value of the key from the map.

Scaling with Hazelcast

When scaling a Node.js application with Hazelcast, you can use multiple Hazelcast instances. The Hazelcast client will automatically distribute the data among the instances.

Conclusion

In this part, we explored how Hazelcast can be a powerful tool for scaling a Node.js application. It allows you to distribute data across multiple machines, which can significantly speed up your application. In the next part of this series, we will compare the performance of Redis, Memcached, and Hazelcast to help you choose the best tool for your needs.