1.2.2. Local and clustered modes

The cache is organized as a tree, with a single root. Each node in the tree essentially contains a map, which acts as a store for key/value pairs. The only requirement placed on objects that are cached is that they implement java.io.Serializable.

JBoss Cache can be either local or replicated. Local caches exist only within the scope of the JVM in which they are created, whereas replicated caches propagate any changes to some or all other caches in the same cluster. A cluster may span different hosts on a network or just different JVMs on a single host.