The .NET core development market is thriving today, and many applications receive a high volume of traffic and are used by tens of thousands of users every month. As a result of slow access to the database, these applications need help with performance difficulties due to the high amount of traffic in the network. In this modern era, thousands of users can access these applications anytime, and this lag is now becoming unaffordable.
As a result of this performance tradeoff, the built-in mechanism of .NET comes into play to address this dilemma. Using this technique, you can improve your web application's performance significantly. This step can be achieved by caching frequently accessed data in memory, allowing you to reduce the number of database queries your application must perform and other costly operations that must be performed, thus resulting in a more responsive application and better scalability for your application.
This article explores to provide advice on implementing.NET's built-in caching mechanism to enhance the performance of web applications.
Web applications using the .NET Framework and caching
The cache allows you to store data in a memory location for rapid access whenever needed. The application can access the cached data instead of obtaining it from the source when it is requested again. This can lead to improved performance and scalability. A cache also allows you to access data when a particular data source doesn't have access during a particular period.
The .NET Framework's caching capabilities work especially well for ASP.NET applications, allowing you to achieve increased performance and scalability.
An overview of caching in ASP.NET Core
Several types of caching are available out-of-the-box in ASP.NET Core, including those listed below.
- In-Memory Caching: The server caches the data within its memory.
- Distributed caching: Data is stored externally in sources such as Redis cache.
How does .NET built-in caching mechanism help in improving user experience?
Several components are essential for creating a rich user experience, but one of the most crucial features is the caching mechanism. It is vital to note that there are several ways through which it can help improve your web applications' performance.
Eliminate Database Hotspots
Many applications require users to access a small subset of data more often than the rest, for instance, celebrity profiles or popular products.
In some cases, the result can be database bottlenecks requiring overprovisioning database resources towards the most frequently accessed information.
Memory caches provide fast and predictable performance for the most commonly accessed data by storing key definitions in memory, thereby reducing the need to overprovision and keep the most commonly accessed keys within memory.
Optimize the backend by reducing the load.
When a caching mechanism is utilized, it will redirect essential parts of the read load from the backend database to the in-memory layer so that your database will now have less work to do under load and it will be more likely to run smoothly under load, or even avoid crashing at times of spikes.
Make sure the expiration date is reasonable.
Specifying an expiration time can be selected when adding data to the cache. This allows you to ensure that the data will be automatically removed from the cache after a certain amount of time. As with any other kind of data, setting a reasonable expiration date is essential. This will be determined by how frequently the information is updated and how crucial it is to have the most up-to-date information.
Make use of the MemoryCache class.
There's a built-in caching mechanism available in the Asp.NET core development services. The MemoryCache class is part of the framework and allows data to be stored in memory for quick access. A MemoryCache class is a collection of objects enabling you to add and retrieve data from a cache. With the Add() and Get() methods, new class instances can be created in your application.
Keep an eye on cache performance.
The performance of your application needs to be monitored to ensure that your caching strategy improves your application's performance, as it is necessary for any performance optimization. Caching can significantly impact an application's CPU and memory utilization by measuring the impact with performance monitoring tools like PerfView.
Web applications can significantly improve their performance by implementing and customizing .NET's built-in caching mechanism.
Cache expensive operations
Cached operations can be very effective if one's system is used for frequent and expensive operations. To improve the performance of a web page, you can cache product data, for instance, if the product list rarely changes.
Limitations of built-In ASP.NET Caching mechanism
However, there is a problem the built-in ASP.NET Cache is a stand-alone in-process cache that lives within your ASP.NET application’s working process. As a result, it is only helpful for a single server environment. No doubt the .NET inbuilt mechanism is great in enhancing the web app's performance. But it does come with some limitations:
Instances of the cache are not synchronized.
As an ASP.NET cache is part of an ASP.NET app process, it cannot operate on multiple ASP.NET apps simultaneously and does not allow synchronizing cache instances across multiple ASP.NET apps. As a result, there are issues with data integrity.
Recyclable NET Worker Processes:
When ASP.NET worker processes are recycled, all data from the ASP.NET cache placed in the process is lost. It results in a significant performance hit because reloading the cache from a data source is necessary.
Memory limit for worker processes:
There is an ASP.NET cache that is included in the worker process of the ASP.NET application. Thus, there needs to be more memory for cache use in this process to take advantage.
So what's the solution to all these limitations? The optimum solution to ASP.NET Caching limitation lies with Distributed Cache. A distributed cache program is recommended to counter ASP limitations.NET caching, as it runs on multiple servers. It also provides a mechanism for maintaining cache synchronization in a web farm to address these issues.
Conclusion
Usually, caching is referred to as one of the most effective techniques for improving the performance of a website or mobile application. When combined with responsive user experience, caching can significantly reduce the perceived response time of an application.
Whenever you implement any performance improvement mechanism, be sure to conduct thorough load testing and profile your website before and after the implementation of caching. Besides this, you can also Hire .NET Core Developers to boost the performance of the web apps.
No comments yet