Do we need something equivalent to MS CacheTT?

FontValidator check W0022 - "Recommended table is missing" has the following rationale description:

```Depending on the typeface and coverage of a font, certain tables are recommended
for optimum quality. For example, the performance of a non-linear font is improved
if the VDMX, LTSH, and hdmx tables are present (use the CacheTT tool to calculate
these values and create these tables). Non-monospaced Latin fonts should have
a kern table. A gasp table is necessary if a designer wants to influence the sizes
at which grayscaling is used under Windows. A DSIG table containing a digital signature
helps ensure the integrity of the font file. Etc.
```

I had a hard time to find detailed descriptions of MS CacheTT on the web. Does the optimizations performed by that proprietary tool from Microsoft still make sense nowadays? Do we need it? Do we already do equivalent things with libre tools? Or can we dismiss this as ancient/deprecated font technology?