AWS Memcached ElastiCache

Deploys a fully managed AWS ElastiCache cluster running the Memcached engine with automatic subnet group and parameter group management. Memcached provides a simple, high-throughput distributed cache using consistent hashing across nodes, with no replication, no persistence, and no authentication — security relies entirely on VPC network isolation.

What Gets Created

When you deploy an AwsMemcachedElasticache resource, OpenMCF provisions:

ElastiCache Memcached Cluster — an aws_elasticache_cluster with the memcached engine, placed in the specified subnets with attached security groups
Subnet Group — created automatically when subnetIds are provided, grouping the subnets for cluster node placement
Parameter Group — created automatically when parameters are provided along with a parameterGroupFamily, enabling custom Memcached engine tuning

Prerequisites

AWS credentials configured via environment variables or OpenMCF provider config
A VPC with private subnets for cluster node placement (subnets in at least two AZs when using cross-az mode)
A security group allowing inbound traffic on the Memcached port (default 11211) — since Memcached has no authentication, security groups are the primary access control mechanism

Quick Start

Create a file memcached.yaml:

apiVersion: aws.openmcf.org/v1
kind: AwsMemcachedElasticache
metadata:
  name: my-cache
  labels:
    openmcf.org/provisioner: pulumi
    pulumi.openmcf.org/organization: my-org
    pulumi.openmcf.org/project: my-project
    pulumi.openmcf.org/stack.name: dev.AwsMemcachedElasticache.my-cache
spec:
  region: us-west-2
  engineVersion: "1.6.22"
  nodeType: cache.t3.micro
  numCacheNodes: 1
  subnetIds:
    - subnet-0a1b2c3d4e5f00001
    - subnet-0a1b2c3d4e5f00002
  securityGroupIds:
    - sg-0a1b2c3d4e5f00001

Deploy:

openmcf apply -f memcached.yaml

This creates a single-node Memcached cluster on port 11211 in the specified subnets.

Configuration Reference

Required Fields

Field	Type	Description	Validation
`region`	`string`	AWS region where the ElastiCache cluster will be deployed (e.g., `"us-west-2"`, `"us-east-1"`).	Required
`engineVersion`	`string`	Memcached engine version. Uses three-part versioning (e.g., `"1.6.22"`, `"1.6.17"`, `"1.5.16"`). Transit encryption requires `1.6.12` or later.	Required
`nodeType`	`string`	ElastiCache node type determining CPU, memory, and network capacity. Examples: `cache.t3.micro` (dev), `cache.r7g.large` (production). Changing this forces cluster recreation.	Required

Optional Fields

Field	Type	Default	Description
`numCacheNodes`	`int`	`1`	Number of cache nodes in the cluster (1–40). Keys are distributed across nodes via consistent hashing.
`azMode`	`string`	`"single-az"`	AZ distribution mode. `"single-az"` places all nodes in one AZ. `"cross-az"` distributes across AZs (requires `numCacheNodes` > 1).
`port`	`int`	`11211`	Port the cluster accepts connections on. ForceNew — changing this destroys and recreates the cluster.
`transitEncryptionEnabled`	`bool`	`false`	Enable TLS encryption for all client connections. Requires engine version `1.6.12` or later. Memcached does not support encryption at rest.
`subnetIds`	`StringValueOrRef[]`	`[]`	Subnet IDs for the ElastiCache subnet group. Provide subnets in at least two AZs when using `cross-az` mode. Can reference AwsVpc resources via `valueFrom`.
`securityGroupIds`	`StringValueOrRef[]`	`[]`	VPC security groups to attach to the cluster nodes. Can reference AwsSecurityGroup resources via `valueFrom`.
`parameterGroupFamily`	`string`	—	Parameter group family (e.g., `"memcached1.6"`, `"memcached1.5"`). Required when `parameters` is provided.
`parameters[].name`	`string`	—	Parameter name (e.g., `"chunk_size"`, `"binding_protocol"`).
`parameters[].value`	`string`	—	Parameter value (e.g., `"96"`, `"auto"`).
`maintenanceWindow`	`string`	AWS-assigned	Weekly maintenance window in UTC. Format: `"ddd:hh24:mi-ddd:hh24:mi"` (e.g., `"sun:05:00-sun:06:00"`).
`applyImmediately`	`bool`	`false`	Apply changes immediately instead of waiting for the next maintenance window. May cause brief downtime.
`autoMinorVersionUpgrade`	`bool`	`false`	Automatically apply minor engine version upgrades during maintenance windows. Recommended: `true`.
`notificationTopicArn`	`StringValueOrRef`	—	SNS topic ARN for cluster event notifications. Can reference an AwsSnsTopic resource via `valueFrom`.
`preferredAvailabilityZones`	`string[]`	`[]`	Preferred AZs for cache nodes. When provided, list length must match `numCacheNodes`.

Examples

Multi-Node Cross-AZ Cluster

A production cache spread across Availability Zones for resilience:

apiVersion: aws.openmcf.org/v1
kind: AwsMemcachedElasticache
metadata:
  name: prod-cache
  labels:
    openmcf.org/provisioner: pulumi
    pulumi.openmcf.org/organization: my-org
    pulumi.openmcf.org/project: my-project
    pulumi.openmcf.org/stack.name: prod.AwsMemcachedElasticache.prod-cache
spec:
  region: us-east-1
  engineVersion: "1.6.22"
  nodeType: cache.r7g.large
  numCacheNodes: 3
  azMode: cross-az
  transitEncryptionEnabled: true
  autoMinorVersionUpgrade: true
  maintenanceWindow: "sun:05:00-sun:06:00"
  subnetIds:
    - subnet-private-az1
    - subnet-private-az2
    - subnet-private-az3
  securityGroupIds:
    - sg-memcached-prod
  preferredAvailabilityZones:
    - us-east-1a
    - us-east-1b
    - us-east-1c

Custom Parameter Tuning

A cluster with custom Memcached engine parameters and SNS notifications:

apiVersion: aws.openmcf.org/v1
kind: AwsMemcachedElasticache
metadata:
  name: tuned-cache
  labels:
    openmcf.org/provisioner: pulumi
    pulumi.openmcf.org/organization: my-org
    pulumi.openmcf.org/project: my-project
    pulumi.openmcf.org/stack.name: staging.AwsMemcachedElasticache.tuned-cache
spec:
  region: us-west-2
  engineVersion: "1.6.22"
  nodeType: cache.m7g.large
  numCacheNodes: 2
  azMode: cross-az
  applyImmediately: true
  parameterGroupFamily: memcached1.6
  parameters:
    - name: chunk_size
      value: "96"
    - name: chunk_size_growth_factor
      value: "1.5"
    - name: binding_protocol
      value: auto
  subnetIds:
    - subnet-private-az1
    - subnet-private-az2
  securityGroupIds:
    - sg-memcached-staging
  notificationTopicArn: arn:aws:sns:us-east-1:123456789012:cache-events

Using Foreign Key References

Reference other OpenMCF-managed resources instead of hardcoding IDs:

apiVersion: aws.openmcf.org/v1
kind: AwsMemcachedElasticache
metadata:
  name: ref-cache
  labels:
    openmcf.org/provisioner: pulumi
    pulumi.openmcf.org/organization: my-org
    pulumi.openmcf.org/project: my-project
    pulumi.openmcf.org/stack.name: prod.AwsMemcachedElasticache.ref-cache
spec:
  region: us-west-2
  engineVersion: "1.6.22"
  nodeType: cache.r7g.large
  numCacheNodes: 2
  azMode: cross-az
  transitEncryptionEnabled: true
  subnetIds:
    - valueFrom:
        kind: AwsVpc
        name: my-vpc
        field: status.outputs.private_subnets[0].id
    - valueFrom:
        kind: AwsVpc
        name: my-vpc
        field: status.outputs.private_subnets[1].id
  securityGroupIds:
    - valueFrom:
        kind: AwsSecurityGroup
        name: memcached-sg
        field: status.outputs.security_group_id
  notificationTopicArn:
    valueFrom:
      kind: AwsSnsTopic
      name: cache-events
      field: status.outputs.topic_arn

Stack Outputs

After deployment, the following outputs are available in status.outputs:

Output	Type	Description
`cluster_id`	`string`	Identifier of the ElastiCache cluster
`cluster_address`	`string`	DNS name of the Memcached auto-discovery endpoint (without port). Empty for single-node clusters.
`configuration_endpoint`	`string`	Full configuration endpoint in `address:port` format. Recommended connection endpoint for multi-node clusters.
`arn`	`string`	Amazon Resource Name of the ElastiCache cluster
`port`	`int`	Port on which the cluster accepts connections
`subnet_group_name`	`string`	Name of the ElastiCache subnet group. Only populated when `subnetIds` were provided.
`parameter_group_name`	`string`	Name of the custom parameter group. Only populated when `parameters` were provided.

AwsVpc — provides the subnets for cluster node placement
AwsSecurityGroup — controls network-level access to the Memcached endpoint
AwsSnsTopic — receives cluster event notifications
AwsRedisElasticache — alternative cache engine with replication, persistence, and authentication

AWS Memcached ElastiCache

What Gets Created

When you deploy an AwsMemcachedElasticache resource, OpenMCF provisions:

ElastiCache Memcached Cluster — an aws_elasticache_cluster with the memcached engine, placed in the specified subnets with attached security groups
Subnet Group — created automatically when subnetIds are provided, grouping the subnets for cluster node placement
Parameter Group — created automatically when parameters are provided along with a parameterGroupFamily, enabling custom Memcached engine tuning

Prerequisites

AWS credentials configured via environment variables or OpenMCF provider config
A VPC with private subnets for cluster node placement (subnets in at least two AZs when using cross-az mode)
A security group allowing inbound traffic on the Memcached port (default 11211) — since Memcached has no authentication, security groups are the primary access control mechanism

Quick Start

Create a file memcached.yaml:

apiVersion: aws.openmcf.org/v1
kind: AwsMemcachedElasticache
metadata:
  name: my-cache
  labels:
    openmcf.org/provisioner: pulumi
    pulumi.openmcf.org/organization: my-org
    pulumi.openmcf.org/project: my-project
    pulumi.openmcf.org/stack.name: dev.AwsMemcachedElasticache.my-cache
spec:
  region: us-west-2
  engineVersion: "1.6.22"
  nodeType: cache.t3.micro
  numCacheNodes: 1
  subnetIds:
    - subnet-0a1b2c3d4e5f00001
    - subnet-0a1b2c3d4e5f00002
  securityGroupIds:
    - sg-0a1b2c3d4e5f00001

Deploy:

openmcf apply -f memcached.yaml

This creates a single-node Memcached cluster on port 11211 in the specified subnets.

Configuration Reference

Required Fields

Field	Type	Description	Validation
`region`	`string`	AWS region where the ElastiCache cluster will be deployed (e.g., `"us-west-2"`, `"us-east-1"`).	Required
`engineVersion`	`string`	Memcached engine version. Uses three-part versioning (e.g., `"1.6.22"`, `"1.6.17"`, `"1.5.16"`). Transit encryption requires `1.6.12` or later.	Required
`nodeType`	`string`	ElastiCache node type determining CPU, memory, and network capacity. Examples: `cache.t3.micro` (dev), `cache.r7g.large` (production). Changing this forces cluster recreation.	Required

Optional Fields

Field	Type	Default	Description
`numCacheNodes`	`int`	`1`	Number of cache nodes in the cluster (1–40). Keys are distributed across nodes via consistent hashing.
`azMode`	`string`	`"single-az"`	AZ distribution mode. `"single-az"` places all nodes in one AZ. `"cross-az"` distributes across AZs (requires `numCacheNodes` > 1).
`port`	`int`	`11211`	Port the cluster accepts connections on. ForceNew — changing this destroys and recreates the cluster.
`transitEncryptionEnabled`	`bool`	`false`	Enable TLS encryption for all client connections. Requires engine version `1.6.12` or later. Memcached does not support encryption at rest.
`subnetIds`	`StringValueOrRef[]`	`[]`	Subnet IDs for the ElastiCache subnet group. Provide subnets in at least two AZs when using `cross-az` mode. Can reference AwsVpc resources via `valueFrom`.
`securityGroupIds`	`StringValueOrRef[]`	`[]`	VPC security groups to attach to the cluster nodes. Can reference AwsSecurityGroup resources via `valueFrom`.
`parameterGroupFamily`	`string`	—	Parameter group family (e.g., `"memcached1.6"`, `"memcached1.5"`). Required when `parameters` is provided.
`parameters[].name`	`string`	—	Parameter name (e.g., `"chunk_size"`, `"binding_protocol"`).
`parameters[].value`	`string`	—	Parameter value (e.g., `"96"`, `"auto"`).
`maintenanceWindow`	`string`	AWS-assigned	Weekly maintenance window in UTC. Format: `"ddd:hh24:mi-ddd:hh24:mi"` (e.g., `"sun:05:00-sun:06:00"`).
`applyImmediately`	`bool`	`false`	Apply changes immediately instead of waiting for the next maintenance window. May cause brief downtime.
`autoMinorVersionUpgrade`	`bool`	`false`	Automatically apply minor engine version upgrades during maintenance windows. Recommended: `true`.
`notificationTopicArn`	`StringValueOrRef`	—	SNS topic ARN for cluster event notifications. Can reference an AwsSnsTopic resource via `valueFrom`.
`preferredAvailabilityZones`	`string[]`	`[]`	Preferred AZs for cache nodes. When provided, list length must match `numCacheNodes`.

Examples

Multi-Node Cross-AZ Cluster

A production cache spread across Availability Zones for resilience:

apiVersion: aws.openmcf.org/v1
kind: AwsMemcachedElasticache
metadata:
  name: prod-cache
  labels:
    openmcf.org/provisioner: pulumi
    pulumi.openmcf.org/organization: my-org
    pulumi.openmcf.org/project: my-project
    pulumi.openmcf.org/stack.name: prod.AwsMemcachedElasticache.prod-cache
spec:
  region: us-east-1
  engineVersion: "1.6.22"
  nodeType: cache.r7g.large
  numCacheNodes: 3
  azMode: cross-az
  transitEncryptionEnabled: true
  autoMinorVersionUpgrade: true
  maintenanceWindow: "sun:05:00-sun:06:00"
  subnetIds:
    - subnet-private-az1
    - subnet-private-az2
    - subnet-private-az3
  securityGroupIds:
    - sg-memcached-prod
  preferredAvailabilityZones:
    - us-east-1a
    - us-east-1b
    - us-east-1c

Custom Parameter Tuning

A cluster with custom Memcached engine parameters and SNS notifications:

apiVersion: aws.openmcf.org/v1
kind: AwsMemcachedElasticache
metadata:
  name: tuned-cache
  labels:
    openmcf.org/provisioner: pulumi
    pulumi.openmcf.org/organization: my-org
    pulumi.openmcf.org/project: my-project
    pulumi.openmcf.org/stack.name: staging.AwsMemcachedElasticache.tuned-cache
spec:
  region: us-west-2
  engineVersion: "1.6.22"
  nodeType: cache.m7g.large
  numCacheNodes: 2
  azMode: cross-az
  applyImmediately: true
  parameterGroupFamily: memcached1.6
  parameters:
    - name: chunk_size
      value: "96"
    - name: chunk_size_growth_factor
      value: "1.5"
    - name: binding_protocol
      value: auto
  subnetIds:
    - subnet-private-az1
    - subnet-private-az2
  securityGroupIds:
    - sg-memcached-staging
  notificationTopicArn: arn:aws:sns:us-east-1:123456789012:cache-events

Using Foreign Key References

Reference other OpenMCF-managed resources instead of hardcoding IDs:

apiVersion: aws.openmcf.org/v1
kind: AwsMemcachedElasticache
metadata:
  name: ref-cache
  labels:
    openmcf.org/provisioner: pulumi
    pulumi.openmcf.org/organization: my-org
    pulumi.openmcf.org/project: my-project
    pulumi.openmcf.org/stack.name: prod.AwsMemcachedElasticache.ref-cache
spec:
  region: us-west-2
  engineVersion: "1.6.22"
  nodeType: cache.r7g.large
  numCacheNodes: 2
  azMode: cross-az
  transitEncryptionEnabled: true
  subnetIds:
    - valueFrom:
        kind: AwsVpc
        name: my-vpc
        field: status.outputs.private_subnets[0].id
    - valueFrom:
        kind: AwsVpc
        name: my-vpc
        field: status.outputs.private_subnets[1].id
  securityGroupIds:
    - valueFrom:
        kind: AwsSecurityGroup
        name: memcached-sg
        field: status.outputs.security_group_id
  notificationTopicArn:
    valueFrom:
      kind: AwsSnsTopic
      name: cache-events
      field: status.outputs.topic_arn

Stack Outputs

After deployment, the following outputs are available in status.outputs:

Output	Type	Description
`cluster_id`	`string`	Identifier of the ElastiCache cluster
`cluster_address`	`string`	DNS name of the Memcached auto-discovery endpoint (without port). Empty for single-node clusters.
`configuration_endpoint`	`string`	Full configuration endpoint in `address:port` format. Recommended connection endpoint for multi-node clusters.
`arn`	`string`	Amazon Resource Name of the ElastiCache cluster
`port`	`int`	Port on which the cluster accepts connections
`subnet_group_name`	`string`	Name of the ElastiCache subnet group. Only populated when `subnetIds` were provided.
`parameter_group_name`	`string`	Name of the custom parameter group. Only populated when `parameters` were provided.

AwsVpc — provides the subnets for cluster node placement
AwsSecurityGroup — controls network-level access to the Memcached endpoint
AwsSnsTopic — receives cluster event notifications
AwsRedisElasticache — alternative cache engine with replication, persistence, and authentication

AWS Memcached ElastiCache

What Gets Created

Prerequisites

Quick Start

Configuration Reference

Required Fields

Optional Fields

Examples

Multi-Node Cross-AZ Cluster

Custom Parameter Tuning

Using Foreign Key References

Stack Outputs

AWS MemoryDB Cluster

Presets

AWS Memcached ElastiCache

What Gets Created

Prerequisites

Quick Start

Configuration Reference

Required Fields

Optional Fields

Examples

Multi-Node Cross-AZ Cluster

Custom Parameter Tuning

Using Foreign Key References

Stack Outputs

AWS MemoryDB Cluster

Presets

AWS Memcached ElastiCache

What Gets Created

Prerequisites

Quick Start

Configuration Reference

Required Fields

Optional Fields

Examples

Multi-Node Cross-AZ Cluster

Custom Parameter Tuning

Using Foreign Key References

Stack Outputs

Related Components

AWS MemoryDB Cluster

Presets

AWS Memcached ElastiCache

What Gets Created

Prerequisites

Quick Start

Configuration Reference

Required Fields

Optional Fields

Examples

Multi-Node Cross-AZ Cluster

Custom Parameter Tuning

Using Foreign Key References

Stack Outputs

Related Components

AWS MemoryDB Cluster

Presets