Tutorials Entity Framework Core Tutorial
High Performance APIs with EF Core
High Performance APIs with EF Core: free step-by-step lesson with examples, common mistakes, and interview tips — part of Entity Framework Core Tutorial on Toolliyo Academy.
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Entity Framework Core Tutorial · Lesson 70 of 100
High Performance APIs with EF Core
Beginner ✓ → Intermediate ✓ → Advanced → Professional
Advanced · 3 — Production skills · ~10 min · Module 7: Performance Optimization
What is this?
High-performance APIs combine DbContextPool, AsNoTracking, projection, compiled queries, caching, pagination, and read replicas — tuned as a system not one trick.
Why should you care?
ShopNest flash sale API target is 3k RPS on catalog reads — every layer from EF to SQL must cooperate.
See it live — copy this example
Paste into a .NET project with EF Core packages, then run with LocalDB/SQL Server (dotnet ef / dotnet run).
builder.Services.AddDbContextPool<ShopNestDbContext>(o =>
o.UseSqlServer(conn, s => s.EnableRetryOnFailure())
.UseQueryTrackingBehavior(QueryTrackingBehavior.NoTracking));
// Minimal endpoint:
app.MapGet("/api/products/{id:int}", async (int id, ShopNestDbContext db) =>
await db.Products
.Where(p => p.Id == id)
.Select(p => new ProductCardDto(p.Id, p.Name, p.Price))
.FirstOrDefaultAsync());What happened?
- DbContextPool plus global NoTracking suits read APIs.
- Minimal API projects DTO directly — no controller overhead, single lean SQL.
Practice next
- Profile end-to-end with k6 or NBomber load test.
- Apply pooling, no tracking, projection on hot reads.
- Add Redis for hottest keys after SQL tuned.
- Add response compression alongside smaller DTO projection.
- Route read-only queries to replica connection string.
Remember
Performance is combination of EF patterns. Pool + no track + project for read APIs. Load test proves changes.
ShopNest sale readiness
Engineering checklist pools DbContext, disables tracking, adds Redis before mega sale.
Outcome: Catalog API sustains 3k RPS at p95 under 120ms.
Interview prep for this lesson
Practice these questions aloud after reading—each links to a full structured answer.
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