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Design a multi-tier KV cache across HBM, host DRAM and SSD for a fleet with heavy prefix reuse, and show the hit-rate math.

Each tier is worth exactly the recompute it avoids minus the fetch it costs. Work that out per token and the design writes itself, including the tier that should not exist for small models and the SSD that wears out in a week.

Updated Oct 2026 · Worked answers on inference mechanisms, with calculations, implementation details, and follow-up questions.

Each tier is worth exactly the recompute it avoids minus the fetch it costs. Work that out per token and the design writes itself, including the tier that should not exist for small models and the SSD that wears out in a week.

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