Tanzu gemFire is powered by Apache Geode. It's an in-memory key-value store that can be used either as a system record or an accelerator for a slower data store. Both cases are handled with ease, grace, and speed. This post introduces caching and focuses on how to implement the cache-aside protocol. The app is responsible for all communication between the cache and the system. The cache is a stash Take the simple squirrel as an example. The squirrel collects nuts in the fall and buries them nearby for winter food. Many squirrels can remember the exact location of their nuts. We could also say that the squirrel keeps its nuts.