Cast AI unveils Database Optimizer to boost cloud efficiency
The Database Optimizer offers a fully automated, plug-and-play caching layer that does not require application changes or manual intervention, according to Cast AI. The solution is aimed at simplifying database operations, specifically for DevOps teams, platform engineers and cloud database administrators who often face challenges with traditional, labour-intensive caching solutions.
Dekel Shavit, Senior Director of Cloud Engineering at Akamai, commented on the product's approach, stating, "Autonomous caching is one of the most effective ways to optimize read-heavy workloads, and Cast AI's approach is brilliantly executed. DBO removes the need for manual tuning while delivering real-time performance gains and cost reductions. It's a strong addition to the Cast AI platform."
According to Cast AI, the DBO agent automatically analyses data queries to detect repeat patterns and delivers instant cached responses, leading to a substantial reduction in load on primary databases. The company reports that this can result in a reduction of up to 90% of customer database hits, allowing organisations to downscale database resources and eliminate the need for read replicas. All of these optimisations can be achieved without code changes, manual cache management or other engineering overhead.
Key features highlighted by the company include simplified database optimisation through actionable insights and turnkey deployment, a claimed tenfold performance improvement due to near-instant data delivery, and the capability to automate cache management in a no-code fashion.
Julius á Rógvi Biskopstø, Chief Technology Officer and Co-founder at Flowcore, described the practical benefits observed from adopting Cast AI's DBO, saying, "One of the toughest challenges with database caching—especially in distributed systems like ours—is cache invalidation. But with Cast AI's DBO, it just works right out of the box. Our workloads are highly cacheable because we separate reads from writes, so integrating with the write channels was straightforward—even in clustering mode."
Biskopstø continued, "We're now seeing cache hit rates of 80–90%, which is outstanding. On I/O-bound servers, cutting database hits by 90% has a huge impact—it saves money and significantly improves performance. Our services were already pretty fast, but DBO shaved off an additional 100 milliseconds, which makes a noticeable difference. If you're thinking about adding a cache, DBO is an easy choice."
Laurent Gil, Co-founder and President at Cast AI, stated that DBO is designed to make database operations more efficient and cost-effective. Gil said, "Databases are one of the most expensive components in the cloud. It was a natural addition to our Application Performance Automation platform. Our DBO agent increases performance and reduces cost by caching any queries for which it detects a repeat pattern., DBO radically simplifies caching, slashes expenses, and requires no changes to how your apps are built. APA is the future of autonomous computing —high performance, zero overhead."
The Database Optimizer is positioned by Cast AI as part of its broader Application Performance Automation platform, which leverages machine learning algorithms to automate cloud resource optimisation, cost management and performance enhancement.
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