How do I troubleshoot latency issues and sporadic failures using DEL?

Question

How do I troubleshoot latency issues and sporadic failures using DEL?

Answer

When using DEL on large keys, it is possible to increase the latency when the target is a huge key. Sporadic failures can be observed.

Try replacing DEL with UNLINK, This command is very similar to DEL: it removes the specified keys. Just like DEL, a key is ignored if it does not exist. However, the command performs the actual memory reclaiming in a different thread, so it is not blocking, while DEL is. This is where the command name comes from: the command just unlinks the keys from the keyspace. The actual removal will happen later asynchronously.