Apache Traffic Server vs Garnet

Apache Traffic Server is a free, open-source caching proxy server for HTTP/1.1 and HTTP/2. It stores frequently requested pages, images, and web service calls so they can be reused, with the stated aims of improving response time and reducing server load and bandwidth needs. It can also add keep-alive behavior, filter or anonymize requests, and balance traffic through a proxy layer. Deployment patterns include web proxy cache, reverse proxy, and cache hierarchy. As a layer 7 HTTP load balancer, it can choose next-hop servers using request attributes, weighted round robin, or URL consistent hashing. Plug-in APIs let teams add behavior such as changing headers, handling ESI requests, or implementing cache algorithms. Security options include client access controls and authentication, SSL termination, and SSL-based access control. It is self-hosted, with Linux and macOS listed as platforms. The project identifies enterprises, internet service providers, backbone providers, and large intranets as its intended audience. The listed stable release is 10.2.0; 9.2.15 is listed as the long-term support release.

Garnet is a free remote cache-store from Microsoft Research for self-hosted use on Linux, macOS, and Windows. It uses RESP and works with many unmodified Redis clients, including StackExchange.Redis; documented libraries also include Jedis, Redisson, redis-py, node_redis, and go-redis. Its data APIs cover strings, lists, hashes, sets, sorted sets, geo operations, HyperLogLog, bitmaps, ACLs, pub/sub, transactions, and Lua scripting. Garnet can store datasets larger than memory on local or cloud storage and supports checkpointing and recovery. Multi-node mode provides sharding, state migration, and replication. Developers can register C# data structures and read-modify-write operations through its custom operator framework. TLS/SSL and password-based RESP authentication are supported. DiskANN vector database support and Bf-Tree range indexes are marked preview. Garnet is MIT-licensed, but is not intended as a fully compatible Redis replacement and does not support Redis modules. The self-hosted plan is free; you manage infrastructure, updates, and operations. The managed Azure Cosmos DB Garnet Cache is in expanded Private Preview, with no price listed.