Mastering Redis Persistence: RDB, AOF, and Hybrid Strategies Explained

Preface

Redis is an in‑memory database; to avoid permanent data loss when the process exits, it must periodically persist data to local disk either as snapshots (RDB) or as a log of write commands (AOF). This article explains both mechanisms, their operation, and underlying principles.

Body

Redis stores data as key‑value pairs. Understanding its internal structure helps to grasp the persistence mechanisms.

1. Redis Database Structure

A single Redis instance has 16 logical databases by default (configurable). Each database is represented by a redisDb structure that tracks the keyspace, expiration times, blocked keys, watched keys, eviction pool, database ID, and average TTL.

typedef struct redisDb {
    dict *dict;                 // key‑value pairs
    dict *expires;              // key expiration timestamps
    dict *blocking_keys;        // keys currently blocked
    dict *ready_keys;           // keys ready to be unblocked
    dict *watched_keys;         // keys watched by WATCH
    struct evictionPoolEntry *eviction_pool;
    int id;                     // database number
    long long avg_ttl;          // average TTL
} redisDb;

The dict holds all key‑value pairs, where keys are strings and values can be strings, lists, hashes, sets, or sorted sets.

2. RDB Persistence

RDB (snapshot) persistence writes the entire dataset to a compressed binary .rdb file. The core functions are rdbSave (create file) and rdbLoad (load file on restart).

RDB files are full‑dataset snapshots, suitable for backup and fast recovery. Redis can generate RDB files manually (SAVE, BGSAVE) or automatically based on configured save conditions.

2.1 RDB Creation and Loading

Default configuration in redis.conf:

# RDB file name
dbfilename dump.rdb
# Directory for RDB and AOF files
dir /usr/local/var/db/redis/

1. SAVE command

SAVE is synchronous and blocks the server until the RDB file is created.

Client command:

127.0.0.1:6379> SAVE

127.0.0.1:6379> SAVE
OK

2. BGSAVE command

BGSAVE forks a child process to create the RDB file, allowing the parent to continue serving clients.

Client command:

127.0.0.1:6379> BGSAVE

127.0.0.1:6379> BGSAVE
Background saving started

The forked child writes the snapshot, then notifies the parent.

2.2 Automatic Saving

Redis checks the save conditions every 100 ms via serverCron. If any condition (e.g., 900 seconds with at least 1 change) is met, BGSAVE is triggered automatically.

save 900 1
save 300 10
save 60 10000

2.3 RDB File Structure

An RDB file consists of a header ("REDIS"), version, auxiliary metadata, database entries, EOF marker, and checksum. Each non‑empty database contains a SELECTDB marker, database number, and a series of key‑value pairs, where each pair may include an expiration time and a type identifier.

3. AOF Persistence

AOF logs every write command to an append‑only file. When enabled, Redis replays the AOF on restart to reconstruct the dataset.

3.1 AOF Creation and Loading

Enable AOF by setting appendonly yes in redis.conf. The server then writes each write command to appendonly.aof.

# Enable AOF
appendonly yes
appendfilename appendonly.aof
dir /usr/local/var/db/redis/

Example AOF content after a few commands:

*2 $6 SELECT $1 0
*5 $4 SADD $6 fruits $5 apple $6 banana $6 orange
*5 $5 LPUSH $7 numbers $3 128 $3 256 $3 512
*3 $3 SET $3 msg $5 hello

3.2 AOF Execution Flow

All write commands are first appended to an in‑memory buffer aof_buf. Depending on the appendfsync policy, the buffer is flushed to disk using write(), fsync(), or both.

appendfsync always

Every command triggers an immediate fsync, guaranteeing at most one lost command but causing high I/O latency.

appendfsync no

Commands are written without explicit fsync; the OS syncs periodically, risking more data loss.

appendfsync everysec

Default setting: writes are flushed each second, balancing performance and safety.

3.3 AOF Rewrite

When the AOF grows large, Redis can rewrite it: a child process creates a new compacted AOF from the current dataset, while the parent continues to serve clients and buffer new commands. After the child finishes, the new file replaces the old one.

4. Hybrid Persistence (RDB + AOF)

Redis 4.0 introduces a hybrid mode where the AOF file starts with an RDB snapshot (preamble) followed by incremental AOF commands. Enable with aof-use-rdb-preamble yes.

# Enable hybrid persistence
aof-use-rdb-preamble yes

5. Choosing a Persistence Strategy

Both RDB and AOF incur performance overhead. RDB is heavier on CPU during snapshot but has fast recovery; AOF writes more frequently, impacting I/O but offering finer‑grained durability. In practice, choose based on data‑loss tolerance, workload, and deployment topology (single‑node, master‑slave, disaster‑recovery).

Cache‑only use‑case: disable persistence.

Single‑node with acceptable minutes‑level loss: prefer RDB.

Require second‑level durability: prefer AOF.

Combine both for safety, accepting higher I/O.

Conclusion

The article introduced Redis’s internal database layout and detailed its three persistence mechanisms—RDB snapshots, AOF command logging, and the hybrid RDB‑AOF mode—covering creation, loading, file formats, configuration options, advantages, disadvantages, and practical strategy recommendations for various deployment scenarios.