Cache Frequently Requested Content (IIS 7)

  • Article

Applies To: Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Vista

If an application contains objects that clients request frequently, you may be able to improve application performance by specifying that those objects should be stored in cache. If the user accesses the cached object before the authentication cookie times out, IIS 7 allows the cached object to remain in the cache, and the timer is reset. However, if the user does not access the cached object during that time, IIS 7 removes the cached object from the cache.

Consider enabling this setting under the following circumstances:

  • You have a limited amount of memory available for caching.

  • You have many objects to be cached, because this setting allows only the most frequently requested objects to remain in the cache.

Note

You specify the number of minutes before an authentication cookie times out with Authentication cookie time-out (in minutes). For more information, see Specify the Authentication Time-out for Forms Authentication (IIS 7)

Prerequisites

For information about the levels at which you can perform this procedure, and the modules, handlers, and permissions that are required to perform this procedure, see Authentication Feature Requirements (IIS 7).

Exceptions to Feature Requirements

  • None

Modules

The following module is required:

  • FormsAuthenticationModule

To cache frequently requested content

You can perform this procedure by using the user interface (UI), by running Appcmd.exe commands in a command-line window, by editing configuration files directly, or by writing WMI scripts.

User Interface

To use the UI

  1. Open IIS Manager and navigate to the level you want to manage. For information about opening IIS Manager, see Open IIS Manager (IIS 7). For information about navigating to locations in the UI, see Navigation in IIS Manager (IIS 7).

  2. In Features View, double-click Authentication.

  3. On the Authentication page, select Forms Authentication.

  4. In the Actions pane, click Edit.

  5. In the Edit Forms Authentication Settings dialog box, check Extend cookie expiration on every request in the Cookie settings area, and then click OK.

Command Line

To cache frequently requested content, use the following syntax:

appcmd set config /commit:WEBROOT /section:system.web/authentication /forms.slidingExpiration: True | False

The default value for forms.slidingExpiration is True. For example, to cache frequently requested content, type the following at the command prompt, and then press ENTER:

appcmd set config /commit:WEBROOT /section:system.web/authentication /forms.slidingExpiration:True

Note

When you use Appcmd.exe to configure the authentication element at the global level in IIS 7, you must specify /commit:WEBROOT in the command so that configuration changes are made to the root Web.config file instead of ApplicationHost.config.

For more information about Appcmd.exe, see Appcmd.exe (IIS 7).

Configuration

The procedure in this topic affects the following configuration elements:

<forms> under <authentication> under <system.web>

For more information about IIS 7 configuration, see IIS 7.0: IIS Settings Schema on MSDN.

WMI

Use the following WMI classes, methods, or properties to perform this procedure:

  • AspCache class (IIS)

  • CachingSection class (IIS)

  • CacheSection class (ASP.NET)

  • OutputCacheSection class (ASP.NET)

For more information about WMI and IIS, see Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) in IIS 7. For more information about the classes, methods, or properties associated with this procedure, see the IIS WMI Provider Reference on the MSDN site.

See Also

Concepts

Configuring Forms Authentication (IIS 7)