diff --git a/dendrite-sample.monolith.yaml b/dendrite-sample.monolith.yaml
index c8c06d6c5..9f316c462 100644
--- a/dendrite-sample.monolith.yaml
+++ b/dendrite-sample.monolith.yaml
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ global:
     # 'kb' suffix is specified. Note that this is not a hard limit, nor is it a
     # memory limit for the entire process. A cache that is too small may ultimately
     # provide little or no benefit.
-    max_size_est: 1gb
+    max_size_estimated: 1gb
 
     # The maximum amount of time that a cache entry can live for in memory before
     # it will be evicted and/or refreshed from the database. Lower values result in
diff --git a/dendrite-sample.polylith.yaml b/dendrite-sample.polylith.yaml
index c87714b51..a1433cf21 100644
--- a/dendrite-sample.polylith.yaml
+++ b/dendrite-sample.polylith.yaml
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ global:
     # 'kb' suffix is specified. Note that this is not a hard limit, nor is it a
     # memory limit for the entire process. A cache that is too small may ultimately
     # provide little or no benefit.
-    max_size_est: 1gb
+    max_size_estimated: 1gb
 
     # The maximum amount of time that a cache entry can live for in memory before
     # it will be evicted and/or refreshed from the database. Lower values result in
diff --git a/internal/caching/caches.go b/internal/caching/caches.go
index 5bc851775..3ab1c1592 100644
--- a/internal/caching/caches.go
+++ b/internal/caching/caches.go
@@ -1,3 +1,17 @@
+// Copyright 2022 The Matrix.org Foundation C.I.C.
+//
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+//     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+
 package caching
 
 import (
diff --git a/internal/caching/impl_ristretto.go b/internal/caching/impl_ristretto.go
index 9710cfa91..9a5224129 100644
--- a/internal/caching/impl_ristretto.go
+++ b/internal/caching/impl_ristretto.go
@@ -1,3 +1,17 @@
+// Copyright 2022 The Matrix.org Foundation C.I.C.
+//
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+//     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+
 package caching
 
 import (
@@ -15,7 +29,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/prometheus/client_golang/prometheus/promauto"
 )
 
-func MustCreateCache(maxCost config.DataUnit, enablePrometheus bool) *ristretto.Cache {
+func mustCreateCache(maxCost config.DataUnit, enablePrometheus bool) *ristretto.Cache {
 	cache, err := ristretto.NewCache(&ristretto.Config{
 		NumCounters: 1e5,
 		MaxCost:     int64(maxCost),
@@ -60,7 +74,7 @@ const (
 )
 
 func NewRistrettoCache(maxCost config.DataUnit, maxAge time.Duration, enablePrometheus bool) (*Caches, error) {
-	cache := MustCreateCache(maxCost, enablePrometheus)
+	cache := mustCreateCache(maxCost, enablePrometheus)
 	return &Caches{
 		RoomVersions: &RistrettoCachePartition[string, gomatrixserverlib.RoomVersion]{
 			cache:  cache,
diff --git a/setup/base/base.go b/setup/base/base.go
index e1a9a4dc0..991d2f25c 100644
--- a/setup/base/base.go
+++ b/setup/base/base.go
@@ -161,9 +161,9 @@ func NewBaseDendrite(cfg *config.Dendrite, componentName string, options ...Base
 		}
 	}
 
-	cache, err := caching.NewRistrettoCache(cfg.Global.Cache.EstMaxSize, cfg.Global.Cache.MaxAge, enableMetrics)
+	cache, err := caching.NewRistrettoCache(cfg.Global.Cache.EstimatedMaxSize, cfg.Global.Cache.MaxAge, enableMetrics)
 	if err != nil {
-		logrus.WithError(err).Warnf("Failed to create cache")
+		logrus.WithError(err).Fatalf("Failed to create cache")
 	}
 
 	var dnsCache *gomatrixserverlib.DNSCache
diff --git a/setup/config/config_global.go b/setup/config/config_global.go
index e1ccad7b6..ac1380a4e 100644
--- a/setup/config/config_global.go
+++ b/setup/config/config_global.go
@@ -176,17 +176,17 @@ func (c *ServerNotices) Defaults(generate bool) {
 func (c *ServerNotices) Verify(errors *ConfigErrors, isMonolith bool) {}
 
 type Cache struct {
-	EstMaxSize DataUnit      `yaml:"max_size_est"`
-	MaxAge     time.Duration `yaml:"max_age"`
+	EstimatedMaxSize DataUnit      `yaml:"max_size_estimated"`
+	MaxAge           time.Duration `yaml:"max_age"`
 }
 
 func (c *Cache) Defaults(generate bool) {
-	c.EstMaxSize = 1024 * 1024 * 1024 // 1GB
+	c.EstimatedMaxSize = 1024 * 1024 * 1024 // 1GB
 	c.MaxAge = time.Hour
 }
 
 func (c *Cache) Verify(errors *ConfigErrors, isMonolith bool) {
-	checkPositive(errors, "max_size_est", int64(c.EstMaxSize))
+	checkPositive(errors, "max_size_estimated", int64(c.EstimatedMaxSize))
 }
 
 // ReportStats configures opt-in anonymous stats reporting.