ASP.NET Core Complete Tutorial (ShopNest)
Lesson 48 of 75 64% of course

Caching in ASP.NET Core — In-Memory, Distributed, Redis

1 · 5 min · 5/24/2026

Learn Caching in ASP.NET Core — In-Memory, Distributed, Redis in our free ASP.NET Core Complete Tutorial (ShopNest) series. Step-by-step explanations, examples, and interview tips on Toolliyo Academy.

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Caching in ASP.NET Core — In-Memory, Distributed, Redis — ShopNest
Article 48 of 75 · Module 6: Advanced Architecture · ShopNest High-Traffic Product Catalog
Target keyword: caching redis asp.net core · Read time: ~33 min · .NET: 8 / 9 · Project: ShopNest High-Traffic Product Catalog

Introduction

ShopNest product catalog under flash sale load needs caching — IMemoryCache for single server, Redis for distributed cache across multiple App Service instances.

After this article you will

  • Apply cache-aside pattern for product lists
  • Configure Redis IDistributedCache
  • Invalidate cache on product updates
  • Use output caching (.NET 8) on API endpoints
  • Prevent cache stampede with locks

Prerequisites

Concept deep-dive

public async Task<ProductDetailDto?> GetProductAsync(int id, CancellationToken ct)
{
    var key = $"product:{id}";
    if (_cache.TryGetValue(key, out ProductDetailDto? cached))
        return cached;

    var product = await _db.Products.AsNoTracking()
        .ProjectTo<ProductDetailDto>(_mapper.ConfigurationProvider)
        .FirstOrDefaultAsync(p => p.Id == id, ct);
    if (product != null)
        _cache.Set(key, product, TimeSpan.FromMinutes(10));
    return product;
}

// Redis
builder.Services.AddStackExchangeRedisCache(options =>
    options.Configuration = config["Redis:Connection"]);

// Output caching — .NET 8
[OutputCache(Duration = 60, VaryByQueryKeys = new[] { "page", "categoryId" })]
[HttpGet]
public async Task<IActionResult> List() => Ok(await _service.GetPageAsync());

Stampede: use SemaphoreSlim or FusionCache library so only one thread repopulates cold cache.

Hands-on — ShopNest High-Traffic Product Catalog

  1. Redis in Docker Compose for local ShopNest.
  2. Cache-aside on GET product; Remove on PUT/DELETE.
  3. OutputCache on product list API.
  4. Load test before/after — document latency improvement.

Common errors & best practices

  • Caching personalized data with public key — user A sees user B data.
  • No TTL — stale prices after admin update.
  • IMemoryCache in multi-instance production — each server different cache.

Interview questions

Q: Cache-aside?
A: App checks cache, on miss loads DB and sets cache.

Q: Cache invalidation?
A: Delete/update cache keys when source data changes — hardest part of caching.

Q: Output vs response caching?
A: Output caching (.NET 8) caches full endpoint result at server.

Summary

  • Redis shares cache across ShopNest web farm
  • Cache-aside + invalidation keeps catalog fresh
  • Output caching speeds read-heavy list endpoints
  • Prevent stampede on hot keys during sales

Previous: Background Services
Next: Health Checks

FAQ

Redis vs SQL for cache?

Redis is in-memory, sub-ms — SQL poor fit for hot cache layer.

What to cache?

Read-heavy, relatively stable data — not unique per-user secrets.

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ASP.NET Core Complete Tutorial (ShopNest)

On this page

Introduction After this article you will Prerequisites Concept deep-dive Hands-on — ShopNest High-Traffic Product Catalog Common errors &amp; best practices Interview questions Summary FAQ Redis vs SQL for cache? What to cache?
Module 1: Foundations
What is ASP.NET Core? Complete Guide Setting Up ASP.NET Core Development Environment ASP.NET Core Project Structure Explained MVC Architecture in ASP.NET Core — Complete Guide Controllers and Actions in ASP.NET Core Routing in ASP.NET Core — Conventional and Attribute Routing Views and Razor Syntax in ASP.NET Core Layouts, Partial Views and View Components Models and ViewModels in ASP.NET Core Forms, Model Binding and Validation in ASP.NET Core Tag Helpers in ASP.NET Core — Complete Guide Static Files, Bundling and Minification in ASP.NET Core
Module 2: Entity Framework Core
Entity Framework Core — Introduction and Setup EF Core Code First — Models, Migrations, Database EF Core CRUD Operations — Create, Read, Update, Delete EF Core LINQ Queries — Beginner to Advanced EF Core Relationships — One-to-One, One-to-Many, Many-to-Many EF Core Fluent API — Advanced Configuration EF Core Repository Pattern and Unit of Work EF Core Performance Optimization Database First Approach with EF Core (Scaffold) EF Core with SQL Server — Advanced Features
Module 3: Dependency Injection & Middleware
Dependency Injection in ASP.NET Core — Complete Guide Middleware in ASP.NET Core — Complete Guide Configuration in ASP.NET Core — appsettings, Environment Variables, Secrets Filters in ASP.NET Core — Action, Authorization, Exception, Resource, Result Logging in ASP.NET Core — ILogger, Serilog, NLog Error Handling and Exception Management in ASP.NET Core
Module 4: Authentication & Security
ASP.NET Core Identity — Complete Setup Guide Authentication in ASP.NET Core — Cookie and JWT Authorization in ASP.NET Core — Roles, Policies, Claims JWT Authentication with Refresh Tokens — Complete Implementation OAuth2 and External Login (Google, Facebook, Microsoft) Data Protection and Encryption in ASP.NET Core HTTPS, SSL Certificates and Security Best Practices
Module 5: Web API
Building REST APIs with ASP.NET Core — Complete Guide API Versioning in ASP.NET Core Swagger / OpenAPI Documentation in ASP.NET Core Input Validation in Web APIs — FluentValidation and Data Annotations Pagination, Filtering and Sorting in ASP.NET Core APIs HTTP Client and Consuming External APIs in ASP.NET Core Minimal APIs in ASP.NET Core .NET 8 SignalR — Real-Time Web Applications
Module 6: Advanced Architecture
Clean Architecture in ASP.NET Core CQRS Pattern with MediatR in ASP.NET Core Repository Pattern — Deep Dive with Generic Repository Background Services and Hosted Services in ASP.NET Core Caching in ASP.NET Core — In-Memory, Distributed, Redis Health Checks in ASP.NET Core AutoMapper in ASP.NET Core Microservices with ASP.NET Core — Introduction Message Queues with RabbitMQ / Azure Service Bus in ASP.NET Core gRPC with ASP.NET Core
Module 7: Testing
Unit Testing ASP.NET Core with xUnit and Moq Integration Testing in ASP.NET Core Testing EF Core — In-Memory vs SQLite Performance Testing and Load Testing ASP.NET Core APIs Test-Driven Development (TDD) in ASP.NET Core
Module 8: Deployment & DevOps
Deploying ASP.NET Core to IIS on Windows Server Docker and Containerization for ASP.NET Core Deploying ASP.NET Core to Azure App Service CI/CD with GitHub Actions for ASP.NET Core Azure SQL Database with ASP.NET Core Environment Configuration and Secrets Management
Module 9: Real-World Projects
Build a Complete Blog Website with ASP.NET Core MVC Build an E-Commerce Product Catalog API (ASP.NET Core Web API) Build a Student Management System (Complete CRUD App) Build a Job Portal (Full Stack ASP.NET Core) Build a REST API with Clean Architecture — Complete Guide Build a Real-Time Chat App with SignalR and ASP.NET Core
Module 10: Advanced Topics
Blazor WebAssembly and Blazor Server — Complete Guide gRPC, GraphQL and Alternative API Styles in ASP.NET Core Rate Limiting and API Throttling in ASP.NET Core .NET 8 Output Caching in ASP.NET Core .NET 8 ASP.NET Core .NET 9 New Features — Complete Guide