ASP.NET MemoryCache Sharing Across Applications - asp.net

Question

I have been reading all over the place about the new MemoryCache class starting in .Net Framework 4.0. From what I've read, you can access the MemoryCache across different .Net applications. I am trying to share an object between an Asp.Net application and a standard windows forms .Net application. If I add the object to the MemoryCache in the .Net application, the Asp.Net application does not see it. Is there any way to accomplish this? Thank you for your time, it is greatly appreciated.
Windows Form App:
Dim cache As ObjectCache = MemoryCache.Default
Dim policy As New CacheItemPolicy()
policy.AbsoluteExpiration = DateTimeOffset.Now.AddMinutes(60)
cache.Set("testcache", TestObj, policy)
Asp.Net App:
Dim cache As ObjectCache = MemoryCache.Default
If IsNothing(cache("testcache")) Then Response.Write("TestCache Is Nothing")
Thanks -
Ryan

Answer 1

No, that's not possible. MemoryCache is not a distributed caching solution. So it will only be available locally.
If you are looking for a distributed cache alternative you may want to look into AppFabric or Redis.
However, it does sound a bit like an odd architecture to want to share the cache that way.
Maybe exposing a shared services layer, that both the asp.net and winforms consume, and have just the services implement the caching would seem more logical (take into account I actually know nothing about the problem you are trying to solve, so I could be wrong).
Caching is more commonly used for performance reasons, not as a way to share data among applications.

Answer 2

MySQL memory tables are working great and having stellar performance. 20/30 inserts a second and only around 1% CPU load.

Answer 3

I realize this advice is not timely, but for others reading this question, another possibility is Interprocess Communication (IPC) between the two programs. This way the two programs can exchange messages/data directly without going thru an intermediate.
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa365574(v=vs.85).aspx
From the documentation above, here are some of your options.
Clipboard
COM
Data Copy
DDE
File Mapping
Mailslots
Pipes
RPC
Windows Sockets
In your case, mapped memory files might be the best approach as it allows for a shared memory space between applications. Fundamentally, your MySql/Redis approach is probably not that different.

Answer 4

if you are interested in :
single server multiple applications - memory share
you should consider create web api at the same node and consume it (simple key value API)
and use simple Memory Cache provided by .net framework
multiple servers - memory share
free $$ solution
you can use "Distributed SQL Server Cache", allows the
distributed cache to use a SQL Server database as its backing store.
To create a SQL Server cached item table in a SQL Server instance,
you can use the sql-cache tool. The tool creates a table with the
name and schema that you specify.
if you have a cluster of nodes you can use NCache it is
an open source in-memory distributed cache developed natively in
.NET and .NET Core. NCache works both locally and configured as a
distributed cache cluster for an ASP.NET Core app running in Azure
or on other hosting platforms.
solutions that require paying money:
NCache mentioned previously, there's Professional and Enterprise solutions,
or
Redis Cache - Redis is an open-source in-memory data store, which is often used as a distributed cache. You can configure an Azure Redis Cache for an Azure-hosted ASP.NET Core app, and use an Azure Redis Cache for local development.