## Summary
Fixes#533 — server cache hit rate always 0%.
## Root Cause
`invalidateCachesFor()` is called at the end of every
`IngestNewFromDB()` and `IngestNewObservations()` cycle (~2-5s). Since
new data arrives continuously, caches are cleared faster than any
analytics request can hit them, resulting in a permanent 0% cache hit
rate. The cache TTL (15s/60s) is irrelevant because entries are evicted
by invalidation long before they expire.
## Fix
Rate-limit cache invalidation with a 10-second cooldown:
- First call after cooldown goes through immediately
- Subsequent calls during cooldown accumulate dirty flags in
`pendingInv`
- Next call after cooldown merges pending + current flags and applies
them
- Eviction bypasses cooldown (data removal requires immediate clearing)
Analytics data may be at most ~10s stale, which is acceptable for a
dashboard.
## Changes
- **`store.go`**: Added `lastInvalidated`, `pendingInv`, `invCooldown`
fields. Refactored `invalidateCachesFor()` to rate-limit non-eviction
invalidation. Extracted `applyCacheInvalidation()` helper.
- **`cache_invalidation_test.go`**: Added 4 new tests:
- `TestInvalidationRateLimited` — verifies caches survive during
cooldown
- `TestInvalidationCooldownAccumulatesFlags` — verifies flag merging
- `TestEvictionBypassesCooldown` — verifies eviction always clears
immediately
- `BenchmarkCacheHitDuringIngestion` — confirms 100% hit rate during
rapid ingestion (was 0%)
## Perf Proof
```
BenchmarkCacheHitDuringIngestion-16 3467889 1018 ns/op 100.0 hit%
```
Before: 0% hit rate under continuous ingestion. After: 100% hit rate
during cooldown periods.
Co-authored-by: you <you@example.com>
## Problem
Every time new data is ingested (`IngestNewFromDB`,
`IngestNewObservations`, `EvictStale`), **all 6 analytics caches** are
wiped by creating new empty maps — regardless of what kind of data
actually changed. With the poller running every 1 second, this means the
15s cache TTL is effectively bypassed because caches are cleared far
more frequently than they expire.
## Fix
Introduces a `cacheInvalidation` flags struct and
`invalidateCachesFor()` method that selectively clears only the caches
affected by the ingested data:
| Flag | Caches Cleared |
|------|----------------|
| `hasNewObservations` | RF (SNR/RSSI data changed) |
| `hasNewPaths` | Topology, Distance, Subpaths |
| `hasNewTransmissions` | Hash sizes |
| `hasChannelData` | Channels (GRP_TXT payload_type 5) + channels list
cache |
| `eviction` | All (data removed, everything potentially stale) |
### Impact
For a typical ingest cycle with ADVERT/ACK/TXT_MSG packets (no GRP_TXT):
- **Before:** All 6 caches cleared every cycle
- **After:** Channel cache preserved (most common case), hash cache
preserved on observation-only ingestion
For observation-only ingestion (`IngestNewObservations`):
- **Before:** All 6 caches cleared
- **After:** Only RF cache cleared (+ topo/dist/subpath if paths
actually changed)
## Tests
7 new unit tests in `cache_invalidation_test.go` covering:
- Eviction clears all caches
- Observation-only ingest preserves non-RF caches
- Transmission-only ingest clears only hash cache
- Channel data clears only channel cache
- Path changes clear topo/dist/subpath
- Combined flags work correctly
- No flags = no invalidation
All existing tests pass.
### Post-rebase fix
Restored `channelsCacheRes` invalidation that was accidentally dropped
during the refactor. The old code cleared this separate channels list
cache on every ingest, but `invalidateCachesFor()` didn't include it.
Now cleared on `hasChannelData` and `eviction`.
Fixes#375
---------
Co-authored-by: you <you@example.com>
Kpa-clawbot