diff --git src/wp-includes/class-wp-network-query.php src/wp-includes/class-wp-network-query.php
index 1bf38ad..e5e42fa 100644
--- src/wp-includes/class-wp-network-query.php
+++ src/wp-includes/class-wp-network-query.php
@@ -119,6 +119,7 @@
  	 *     @type array        $path__not_in         Array of paths to exclude affiliated networks for. Default empty.
  	 *     @type string       $search               Search term(s) to retrieve matching networks for. Default empty.
 	 *     @type bool         $update_network_cache Whether to prime the cache for found networks. Default true.
+	 *     @type bool         $update_network_meta_cache  Whether to update the network meta cache. Default true.
 	 * }
 	 */
 	public function __construct( $query = '' ) {
@@ -140,6 +141,7 @@
 			'path__not_in'         => '',
 			'search'               => '',
 			'update_network_cache' => true,
+			'update_network_meta_cache' => true,
 		);
 
 		if ( ! empty( $query ) ) {
@@ -248,7 +250,7 @@
 		}
 
 		if ( $this->query_vars['update_network_cache'] ) {
-			_prime_network_caches( $network_ids );
+			_prime_network_caches( $network_ids, $this->query_vars['update_network_meta_cache'] );
 		}
 
 		// Fetch full network objects from the primed cache.
diff --git src/wp-includes/functions.php src/wp-includes/functions.php
index ee214e9..0fe64ca 100644
--- src/wp-includes/functions.php
+++ src/wp-includes/functions.php
@@ -4440,7 +4440,11 @@
 		// If the current network has an ID of 1, assume it is the main network.
 		$main_network_id = 1;
 	} else {
-		$_networks = get_networks( array( 'fields' => 'ids', 'number' => 1 ) );
+		$_networks = get_networks( array(
+			'fields'                    => 'ids',
+			'number'                    => 1,
+			'update_network_meta_cache' => false
+		) );
 		$main_network_id = array_shift( $_networks );
 	}
 
diff --git src/wp-includes/ms-blogs.php src/wp-includes/ms-blogs.php
index 01bb986..ee32e98 100644
--- src/wp-includes/ms-blogs.php
+++ src/wp-includes/ms-blogs.php
@@ -842,7 +842,7 @@
 			if ( is_array( $global_groups ) ) {
 				wp_cache_add_global_groups( $global_groups );
 			} else {
-				wp_cache_add_global_groups( array( 'users', 'userlogins', 'usermeta', 'user_meta', 'useremail', 'userslugs', 'site-transient', 'site-options', 'blog-lookup', 'blog-details', 'rss', 'global-posts', 'blog-id-cache', 'networks', 'sites', 'site-details' ) );
+				wp_cache_add_global_groups( array( 'users', 'userlogins', 'usermeta', 'user_meta', 'useremail', 'userslugs', 'site-transient', 'site-options', 'blog-lookup', 'blog-details', 'rss', 'global-posts', 'blog-id-cache', 'networks', 'sites', 'site-details', 'site_meta' ) );
 			}
 			wp_cache_add_non_persistent_groups( array( 'counts', 'plugins' ) );
 		}
@@ -916,7 +916,7 @@
 			if ( is_array( $global_groups ) ) {
 				wp_cache_add_global_groups( $global_groups );
 			} else {
-				wp_cache_add_global_groups( array( 'users', 'userlogins', 'usermeta', 'user_meta', 'useremail', 'userslugs', 'site-transient', 'site-options', 'blog-lookup', 'blog-details', 'rss', 'global-posts', 'blog-id-cache', 'networks', 'sites', 'site-details' ) );
+				wp_cache_add_global_groups( array( 'users', 'userlogins', 'usermeta', 'user_meta', 'useremail', 'userslugs', 'site-transient', 'site-options', 'blog-lookup', 'blog-details', 'rss', 'global-posts', 'blog-id-cache', 'networks', 'sites', 'site-details', 'site_meta' ) );
 			}
 			wp_cache_add_non_persistent_groups( array( 'counts', 'plugins' ) );
 		}
@@ -1192,12 +1192,18 @@
  * cache using the network group with the key using the ID of the networks.
  *
  * @since 4.6.0
+ * @since 4.8.0 Introduced the `$update_meta_cache` parameter.
  *
- * @param array $networks Array of network row objects.
+ * @param array $networks          Array of network row objects.
+ * @param bool  $update_meta_cache Optional. Whether to update the meta cache. Default true.
  */
-function update_network_cache( $networks ) {
+function update_network_cache( $networks, $update_meta_cache = true ) {
 	foreach ( (array) $networks as $network ) {
 		wp_cache_add( $network->id, $network, 'networks' );
+	}
+
+	if ( $update_meta_cache ) {
+		update_networkmeta_cache( wp_list_pluck( $networks, 'id' ) );
 	}
 }
 
@@ -1205,21 +1211,23 @@
  * Adds any networks from the given IDs to the cache that do not already exist in cache.
  *
  * @since 4.6.0
+ * @since 4.8.0 Introduced the `$update_meta_cache` parameter.
  * @access private
  *
  * @see update_network_cache()
  * @global wpdb $wpdb WordPress database abstraction object.
  *
- * @param array $network_ids Array of network IDs.
+ * @param array $network_ids       Array of network IDs.
+ * @param bool  $update_meta_cache Optional. Whether to update the meta cache. Default true.
  */
-function _prime_network_caches( $network_ids ) {
+function _prime_network_caches( $network_ids, $update_meta_cache = true ) {
 	global $wpdb;
 
 	$non_cached_ids = _get_non_cached_ids( $network_ids, 'networks' );
-	if ( !empty( $non_cached_ids ) ) {
-		$fresh_networks = $wpdb->get_results( sprintf( "SELECT $wpdb->site.* FROM $wpdb->site WHERE id IN (%s)", join( ",", array_map( 'intval', $non_cached_ids ) ) ) );
+	if ( ! empty( $non_cached_ids ) ) {
+		$fresh_networks = $wpdb->get_results( sprintf( "SELECT * FROM {$wpdb->site} WHERE id IN (%s)", join( ",", array_map( 'intval', $non_cached_ids ) ) ) );
 
-		update_network_cache( $fresh_networks );
+		update_network_cache( $fresh_networks, $update_meta_cache );
 	}
 }
 
diff --git src/wp-includes/ms-functions.php src/wp-includes/ms-functions.php
index a562cdf..8cceacd 100644
--- src/wp-includes/ms-functions.php
+++ src/wp-includes/ms-functions.php
@@ -2513,3 +2513,93 @@
 	 */
 	return apply_filters( 'subdirectory_reserved_names', $names );
 }
+
+/**
+ * Add metadata to a network.
+ *
+ * @since 4.8.0
+ *
+ * @param int    $id         Network ID.
+ * @param string $meta_key   Metadata name.
+ * @param mixed  $meta_value Metadata value. Must be serializable if non-scalar.
+ * @param bool   $unique     Optional. Whether the same key should not be added.
+ *                           Default false.
+ * @return int|false Meta ID on success, false on failure.
+ */
+function add_network_meta( $id, $meta_key, $meta_value, $unique = false ) {
+	return add_metadata( 'site', $id, $meta_key, $meta_value, $unique );
+}
+
+/**
+ * Remove from a network, metadata matching key and/or value.
+ *
+ * You can match based on the key, or key and value. Removing based on key and
+ * value, will keep from removing duplicate metadata with the same key. It also
+ * allows removing all metadata matching key, if needed.
+ *
+ * @since 4.8.0
+ *
+ * @param int    $id         Network ID.
+ * @param string $meta_key   Metadata name.
+ * @param mixed  $meta_value Optional. Metadata value. Must be serializable if
+ *                           non-scalar. Default empty.
+ * @return bool True on success, false on failure.
+ */
+function delete_network_meta( $id, $meta_key, $meta_value = '' ) {
+	return delete_metadata( 'site', $id, $meta_key, $meta_value );
+}
+
+/**
+ * Retrieve from a network, metadata value by key.
+ *
+ * @since 4.8.0
+ *
+ * @param int    $id        Network ID.
+ * @param string $meta_key  Optional. The meta key to retrieve. By default, returns
+ *                          data for all keys. Default empty.
+ * @param bool   $single    Optional. Whether to return a single value. Default false.
+ * @return mixed Will be an array if $single is false. Will be value of meta data
+ *               field if $single is true.
+ */
+function get_network_meta( $id, $meta_key = '', $single = false ) {
+	return get_metadata( 'site', $id, $meta_key, $single );
+}
+
+/**
+ * Update metadata for a network ID, and/or key, and/or value.
+ *
+ * Use the $prev_value parameter to differentiate between meta fields with the
+ * same key and network ID.
+ *
+ * If the meta field for the network does not exist, it will be added.
+ *
+ * @since 4.8.0
+ *
+ * @param int    $id         Network ID.
+ * @param string $meta_key   Metadata key.
+ * @param mixed  $meta_value Metadata value. Must be serializable if non-scalar.
+ * @param mixed  $prev_value Optional. Previous value to check before removing.
+ *                           Default empty.
+ * @return int|bool Meta ID if the key didn't exist, true on successful update,
+ *                  false on failure.
+ */
+function update_network_meta( $id, $meta_key, $meta_value, $prev_value = '' ) {
+	return update_metadata( 'site', $id, $meta_key, $meta_value, $prev_value );
+}
+
+/**
+ * Updates metadata cache for list of network IDs.
+ *
+ * Performs SQL query to retrieve the metadata for the network IDs and updates the
+ * metadata cache for the posts. Therefore, the functions, which call this
+ * function, do not need to perform SQL queries on their own.
+ *
+ * @since 4.8.0
+ *
+ * @param array $network_ids List of network IDs.
+ * @return array|false Returns false if there is nothing to update or an array
+ *                     of metadata.
+ */
+function update_networkmeta_cache( $network_ids) {
+	return update_meta_cache( 'site', $network_ids );
+}
diff --git src/wp-includes/option.php src/wp-includes/option.php
index d58ae69..0a08fdb 100644
--- src/wp-includes/option.php
+++ src/wp-includes/option.php
@@ -207,29 +207,18 @@
  *
  * @global wpdb $wpdb WordPress database abstraction object.
  *
- * @param int $site_id Optional site ID for which to query the options. Defaults to the current site.
+ * @param int $network_id Optional network ID for which to query the options. Defaults to the current site.
  */
-function wp_load_core_site_options( $site_id = null ) {
+function wp_load_core_site_options( $network_id = null ) {
 	global $wpdb;
 
 	if ( ! is_multisite() || wp_using_ext_object_cache() || wp_installing() )
 		return;
 
-	if ( empty($site_id) )
-		$site_id = $wpdb->siteid;
-
-	$core_options = array('site_name', 'siteurl', 'active_sitewide_plugins', '_site_transient_timeout_theme_roots', '_site_transient_theme_roots', 'site_admins', 'can_compress_scripts', 'global_terms_enabled', 'ms_files_rewriting' );
-
-	$core_options_in = "'" . implode("', '", $core_options) . "'";
-	$options = $wpdb->get_results( $wpdb->prepare("SELECT meta_key, meta_value FROM $wpdb->sitemeta WHERE meta_key IN ($core_options_in) AND site_id = %d", $site_id) );
-
-	foreach ( $options as $option ) {
-		$key = $option->meta_key;
-		$cache_key = "{$site_id}:$key";
-		$option->meta_value = maybe_unserialize( $option->meta_value );
-
-		wp_cache_set( $cache_key, $option->meta_value, 'site-options' );
+	if ( empty( $network_id ) ) {
+		$network_id = $wpdb->siteid;
 	}
+	update_networkmeta_cache( $network_id );
 }
 
 /**
@@ -1091,7 +1080,6 @@
  * @return mixed Value set for the option.
  */
 function get_network_option( $network_id, $option, $default = false ) {
-	global $wpdb;
 
 	if ( $network_id && ! is_numeric( $network_id ) ) {
 		return false;
@@ -1127,55 +1115,28 @@
 		return $pre;
 	}
 
-	// prevent non-existent options from triggering multiple queries
-	$notoptions_key = "$network_id:notoptions";
-	$notoptions = wp_cache_get( $notoptions_key, 'site-options' );
-
-	if ( isset( $notoptions[ $option ] ) ) {
-
-		/**
-		 * Filters a specific default network option.
-		 *
-		 * The dynamic portion of the hook name, `$option`, refers to the option name.
-		 *
-		 * @since 3.4.0
-		 * @since 4.4.0 The `$option` parameter was added.
-		 * @since 4.7.0 The `$network_id` parameter was added.
-		 *
-		 * @param mixed  $default    The value to return if the site option does not exist
-		 *                           in the database.
-		 * @param string $option     Option name.
-		 * @param int    $network_id ID of the network.
-		 */
-		return apply_filters( "default_site_option_{$option}", $default, $option, $network_id );
-	}
+	/**
+	 * Filters a specific default network option.
+	 *
+	 * The dynamic portion of the hook name, `$option`, refers to the option name.
+	 *
+	 * @since 3.4.0
+	 * @since 4.4.0 The `$option` parameter was added.
+	 * @since 4.7.0 The `$network_id` parameter was added.
+	 *
+	 * @param mixed  $default    The value to return if the site option does not exist
+	 *                           in the database.
+	 * @param string $option     Option name.
+	 * @param int    $network_id ID of the network.
+	 */
+	$default = apply_filters( 'default_site_option_' . $option, $default, $option, $network_id );
 
 	if ( ! is_multisite() ) {
-		/** This filter is documented in wp-includes/option.php */
-		$default = apply_filters( 'default_site_option_' . $option, $default, $option, $network_id );
 		$value = get_option( $option, $default );
 	} else {
-		$cache_key = "$network_id:$option";
-		$value = wp_cache_get( $cache_key, 'site-options' );
-
-		if ( ! isset( $value ) || false === $value ) {
-			$row = $wpdb->get_row( $wpdb->prepare( "SELECT meta_value FROM $wpdb->sitemeta WHERE meta_key = %s AND site_id = %d", $option, $network_id ) );
-
-			// Has to be get_row instead of get_var because of funkiness with 0, false, null values
-			if ( is_object( $row ) ) {
-				$value = $row->meta_value;
-				$value = maybe_unserialize( $value );
-				wp_cache_set( $cache_key, $value, 'site-options' );
-			} else {
-				if ( ! is_array( $notoptions ) ) {
-					$notoptions = array();
-				}
-				$notoptions[ $option ] = true;
-				wp_cache_set( $notoptions_key, $notoptions, 'site-options' );
-
-				/** This filter is documented in wp-includes/option.php */
-				$value = apply_filters( 'default_site_option_' . $option, $default, $option, $network_id );
-			}
+		$value = get_network_meta( $network_id, $option, true );
+		if ( empty( $value ) ) {
+			$value = $default;
 		}
 	}
 
@@ -1213,7 +1174,6 @@
  * @return bool False if option was not added and true if option was added.
  */
 function add_network_option( $network_id, $option, $value ) {
-	global $wpdb;
 
 	if ( $network_id && ! is_numeric( $network_id ) ) {
 		return false;
@@ -1244,38 +1204,10 @@
 	 */
 	$value = apply_filters( "pre_add_site_option_{$option}", $value, $option, $network_id );
 
-	$notoptions_key = "$network_id:notoptions";
-
 	if ( ! is_multisite() ) {
 		$result = add_option( $option, $value, '', 'no' );
 	} else {
-		$cache_key = "$network_id:$option";
-
-		// Make sure the option doesn't already exist. We can check the 'notoptions' cache before we ask for a db query
-		$notoptions = wp_cache_get( $notoptions_key, 'site-options' );
-		if ( ! is_array( $notoptions ) || ! isset( $notoptions[ $option ] ) ) {
-			if ( false !== get_network_option( $network_id, $option, false ) ) {
-				return false;
-			}
-		}
-
-		$value = sanitize_option( $option, $value );
-
-		$serialized_value = maybe_serialize( $value );
-		$result = $wpdb->insert( $wpdb->sitemeta, array( 'site_id'    => $network_id, 'meta_key'   => $option, 'meta_value' => $serialized_value ) );
-
-		if ( ! $result ) {
-			return false;
-		}
-
-		wp_cache_set( $cache_key, $value, 'site-options' );
-
-		// This option exists now
-		$notoptions = wp_cache_get( $notoptions_key, 'site-options' ); // yes, again... we need it to be fresh
-		if ( is_array( $notoptions ) && isset( $notoptions[ $option ] ) ) {
-			unset( $notoptions[ $option ] );
-			wp_cache_set( $notoptions_key, $notoptions, 'site-options' );
-		}
+		$result = add_network_meta( $network_id, $option, $value );
 	}
 
 	if ( $result ) {
@@ -1327,7 +1259,6 @@
  * @return bool True, if succeed. False, if failure.
  */
 function delete_network_option( $network_id, $option ) {
-	global $wpdb;
 
 	if ( $network_id && ! is_numeric( $network_id ) ) {
 		return false;
@@ -1357,14 +1288,7 @@
 	if ( ! is_multisite() ) {
 		$result = delete_option( $option );
 	} else {
-		$row = $wpdb->get_row( $wpdb->prepare( "SELECT meta_id FROM {$wpdb->sitemeta} WHERE meta_key = %s AND site_id = %d", $option, $network_id ) );
-		if ( is_null( $row ) || ! $row->meta_id ) {
-			return false;
-		}
-		$cache_key = "$network_id:$option";
-		wp_cache_delete( $cache_key, 'site-options' );
-
-		$result = $wpdb->delete( $wpdb->sitemeta, array( 'meta_key' => $option, 'site_id' => $network_id ) );
+		$result = delete_network_meta( $network_id, $option );
 	}
 
 	if ( $result ) {
@@ -1415,7 +1339,6 @@
  * @return bool False if value was not updated and true if value was updated.
  */
 function update_network_option( $network_id, $option, $value ) {
-	global $wpdb;
 
 	if ( $network_id && ! is_numeric( $network_id ) ) {
 		return false;
@@ -1457,25 +1380,11 @@
 		return add_network_option( $network_id, $option, $value );
 	}
 
-	$notoptions_key = "$network_id:notoptions";
-	$notoptions = wp_cache_get( $notoptions_key, 'site-options' );
-	if ( is_array( $notoptions ) && isset( $notoptions[ $option ] ) ) {
-		unset( $notoptions[ $option ] );
-		wp_cache_set( $notoptions_key, $notoptions, 'site-options' );
-	}
-
 	if ( ! is_multisite() ) {
 		$result = update_option( $option, $value, 'no' );
 	} else {
-		$value = sanitize_option( $option, $value );
-
-		$serialized_value = maybe_serialize( $value );
-		$result = $wpdb->update( $wpdb->sitemeta, array( 'meta_value' => $serialized_value ), array( 'site_id' => $network_id, 'meta_key' => $option ) );
-
-		if ( $result ) {
-			$cache_key = "$network_id:$option";
-			wp_cache_set( $cache_key, $value, 'site-options' );
-		}
+		$value  = sanitize_option( $option, $value );
+		$result = update_network_meta( $network_id, $option, $value );
 	}
 
 	if ( $result ) {
diff --git tests/phpunit/includes/testcase.php tests/phpunit/includes/testcase.php
index c77511d..37e75d7 100644
--- tests/phpunit/includes/testcase.php
+++ tests/phpunit/includes/testcase.php
@@ -301,7 +301,7 @@
 			$wp_object_cache->__remoteset();
 		}
 		wp_cache_flush();
-		wp_cache_add_global_groups( array( 'users', 'userlogins', 'usermeta', 'user_meta', 'useremail', 'userslugs', 'site-transient', 'site-options', 'blog-lookup', 'blog-details', 'rss', 'global-posts', 'blog-id-cache', 'networks', 'sites', 'site-details' ) );
+		wp_cache_add_global_groups( array( 'users', 'userlogins', 'usermeta', 'user_meta', 'useremail', 'userslugs', 'site-transient', 'site-options', 'blog-lookup', 'blog-details', 'rss', 'global-posts', 'blog-id-cache', 'networks', 'sites', 'site-details', 'site_meta' ) );
 		wp_cache_add_non_persistent_groups( array( 'comment', 'counts', 'plugins' ) );
 	}
 
diff --git tests/phpunit/tests/cache.php tests/phpunit/tests/cache.php
index 6c2eb77..6a27080 100644
--- tests/phpunit/tests/cache.php
+++ tests/phpunit/tests/cache.php
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@
 		global $wp_object_cache;
 		$cache_class = get_class( $wp_object_cache );
 		$cache = new $cache_class();
-		$cache->add_global_groups( array( 'global-cache-test', 'users', 'userlogins', 'usermeta', 'user_meta', 'useremail', 'userslugs', 'site-transient', 'site-options', 'blog-lookup', 'blog-details', 'rss', 'global-posts', 'blog-id-cache', 'networks', 'sites', 'site-details' ) );
+		$cache->add_global_groups( array( 'global-cache-test', 'users', 'userlogins', 'usermeta', 'user_meta', 'useremail', 'userslugs', 'site-transient', 'site-options', 'blog-lookup', 'blog-details', 'rss', 'global-posts', 'blog-id-cache', 'networks', 'sites', 'site-details', 'site_meta' ) );
 		return $cache;
 	}