Wade WegnerWindows Azure Technical EvangelistMicrosoft Corporation

Windows Azure AppFabric Caching

Agenda

Challenges in Building High Performance Web AppsOverview of Windows Azure AppFabric CachingDemos, Demos & DemosSizes & CapacityBest PracticesSummaryQ&A

ChallengesHow do you linearly scale your application to handle increasing load?How do you quickly get better performance and reduced data access latencies?How do you store data mash-ups from multiple data repositories?How do you easily & reliably manage ASP.NET session state and page output caching?How do you reduce pressure from the data-tier without complex data partitioning techniques?And most importantly, how do you do all this with a predictable cost model?

Solutions?A highly scalable distributed caching solution with low latency and high throughput

In-memory cacheLocated near your cloud applicationsReduces pressure from data tier

Simple administrationNo need to build, deploy, or manage your own distributed cacheProvision what you need, pay for what you useLow overall TCO

Simple integration with your cloud applicationsOut of box support for common application patterns (ASP.NET session state, output caching)

ANNOUNCING

Commercial Launch of Windows Azure AppFabric Caching

DEMO

Overview of Windows Azure AppFabric Caching

A quick recap…

A distributed, in-memory cache for applications running in Windows Azure:

In-memory cache located near your Windows Azure applicationsSimple administrationBased off the proven Windows Server AppFabric Caching capabilities

Benefits:Highly scalable caching solution with low latency and high throughputCan dynamically increase and decrease as needed, without redeploying or modifying your applicationUser doesn’t have to bother with configuration, deployment, or management of their cache infrastructure

Capabilities & Key Benefits

DifferentiatorsOut of box ASP.NET providers for session state & page output cachingExtreme low latency with the local cacheLocal cache enables you to use spare available memory in your Web tier while the Caching tier gives you a predictable distributed cache

Caches any managed object (CLR objects, rows, XML, Binary Data…)

Only requirement is that the object should be serializableNo serialization costs for local caching

Easily integrates into existing applicationsSame managed interfaces as Windows Server AppFabric Caching

Secured by the Access Control Service

Application Patterns

Reference DataA version of the authoritative data, refreshed periodicallyLarge number of accesses, mostly readExample – Product catalogs

Activity-oriented DataData generated as part of the app activity, typically logged back to a backend datastoreNeeds read, write accessExample – Shopping cart, Session State

Resource-oriented DataAuthoritative data, modified by transactions, temporal in natureNeeds frequent read, limited write accessExample – Flight Inventory, Stock Quotes

DEMO

Walkthrough of Common Caching Application Patterns

Sizes & Capacity Planning

Available in multiple sizes128 MB256 MB512 MB1 GB2 GB4 GB

Use combination of these sizes or multiple of these to create your desired cache capacityIncrease/decrease cache capacity dynamically

Data preserved when increasing cache sizeData follows normal eviction policy on decreasing cache size

Pricing128 MB cache $45.00/month

256 MB cache $55.00/month

512 MB cache $75.00/month

1 GB cache $110.00month

2 GB cache $180.00/month

4 GB cache $325.00/month

Things to ConsiderAppFabric Caching Hosted Do-it-Yourself

Dedicated memory

With AppFabric caching, you are guaranteed the complete cache size at all times.

With a hosted caching solution, you can only use a part of the instance memory because part of the memory is consumed by the operating system and other running processes.

Ease of useAppFabric caching handles of all the service details. All you have to do is use it.

With a hosted caching solution, you are responsible for installation and configuration in addition to ongoing management and maintenance.

Distributed

Because AppFabric caching is distributed, it can scale with the demand of your applications. You just visit the portal and increase the memory size.

With a hosted caching solution, your application scale is limited by the capacity of the compute instance hosting your cache. You must manually add and prepare additional instances.

Service Level Agreement (SLA)

We promise uptime and availability of the service in our SLA.

With a hosted caching solution, you are not guaranteed any uptime.

Best PracticesRemember, Caching !=DatabaseUse local cache to get the maximum benefit

Local cache has time based expiryLocal cache is usually more volatile (varying memory pressure)

Consider using Caching along with CDN and Traffic Manager to decrease end user latencyCaching can help overcome the sticky session state limitations (works for any shared state scenario)Do capacity planning to optimize for data in cache to avoid frequent data-tier accessesAlways collocate your provisioned caches and your Azure application!

SummaryBuild High Performance Web Applications quickly & easily with the help of Windows Azure AppFabric CachingHighly scalable caching solution with low latency & high throughputSimple administration

Offered as a managed service to help reduce your overall TCODynamic provisioning lets you add/remove capacity as needed

RoadmapPublic CTP release available in AppFabric Labs since Oct ‘10 (PDC)Commercial launch in 2 weeks (April 2011)

Get startedFor more information: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsazure/appfabric/Start using today: https://portal.appfabriclabs.com/

Q&A

© 2011 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Windows, Windows Vista and other product names are or may be registered trademarks and/or trademarks in the U.S. and/or other countries.

The information herein is for informational purposes only and represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation as of the date of this presentation. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information provided after

the date of this presentation. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRESENTATION.