Write-Through vs Write-Behind

Summary

Two strategies for keeping cache and database in sync on writes — write-through updates both immediately (safer, slower); write-behind updates the cache immediately and the database asynchronously (faster, riskier).

• 1Diagram the request flow for both write-through and write-behind on a write operation.
• 2Identify a scenario where write-behind's risk of data loss would be unacceptable.
• 3Understand these patterns matter most for extremely write-heavy, latency-sensitive systems.