Azure Cache for .NET - NCache

100% Native .NET (Industry's Only)

Azure Cache for .NET by NCache is 100% native .NET and fits in very nicely with .NET applications. It is available both as NCache Cloud (fully managed SaaS) and NCache Software (non-hosted). Use Azure Cache for .NET by NCache to remove performance bottlenecks and scale your .NET applications to extreme performance. NCache is an extremely fast and scalable in-memory distributed cache for .NET. NCache also provides Java, Python, and Node.js clients.

Azure Cache for .NET by NCache is available in two options:

1. NCache Cloud (SaaS): a fully managed cloud service in Azure with 99.99% availability. You can purchase it from Azure Marketplace. Access it through VNET Peering or Private Link in Azure Regions/Availability Zones of your choice.
2. NCache Software (Non-hosted): Get a preconfigured NCache Software VM from Azure Marketplace (Windows or Linux), download NCache Software from our website and install it on an Azure VM yourself, or get a preconfigured Docker image for your Azure VM. Then, buy NCache Software licenses (non-hosted) from Azure Marketplace or directly from Alachisoft to activate and use.

NCache Cloud (SaaS)

Azure Cache for .NET by NCache provides an NCache Cloud (SaaS) option with the following details:

1. Fully Managed (99.99% Availability): Fully managed cloud service in Azure.
2. Buy from Azure Marketplace: Contact us to obtain a custom quote. Then purchase from Azure Marketplace.
3. Monthly Subscription: This option is available.
4. Annual Subscription / Perpetual Licenses (Buy/Reuse): Buy new or reuse existing NCache licenses, and only pay for the underlying Azure infrastructure.
5. Free Dev/QA (Non-hosted): Free Dev workstations and Dev/QA servers with performance and size limitations.
6. Free Trial (30-Day; extendable) (Hosted): Fully working free trial for 30 days with capacity limits (2-node cluster; Max total 1.5 GB & 500 ops/sec). Extend the trial by asking for an extension key.
7. VNET Peering / Private Link: access NCache Cloud servers through Azure VNET Peering or Private Link.
8. Remote Login (RDP/SSH): for better access and more control over NCache servers.

NCache Software (Non-hosted)

Azure Cache for .NET by NCache provides an NCache Software (non-hosted) option. This allows you to host NCache servers yourself in Azure and purchase the NCache licenses from Azure Marketplace or Alachisoft. Here are its details:

1. Get NCache Software: From the following places and activate them with purchased NCache licenses:
   1. Azure Marketplace Listing: get a preconfigured VM (Windows, Linux)
   2. Alachisoft Website: download the NCache installer from our website (Windows, Linux) and install it yourself.
   3. Docker Image (Dock Hub / Azure Container Registry): get a preconfigured NCache Docker image (Linux, Windows)
2. Free Trial (30-Day; extendable): Fully working free trial for 30 days (no capacity limits). Extend the trial by asking for an extension key.
3. Buy from Azure Marketplace or Alachisoft: Contact us to obtain a custom quote along with technical guidance on capacity planning from our solutions architects. Then, purchase NCache Software licenses from Azure Marketplace or Alachisoft.
4. Annual Subscription / Perpetual Licenses (Buy/Reuse): Buy new or reuse existing NCache licenses and activate yourself on Azure VMs in your environment (Windows, Linux).
5. Free Dev/QA: Free Dev workstations and Dev/QA servers with some performance and size limitations.

Cloud Migration / Multi-Cloud

Azure Cache for .NET by NCache lets you reuse your NCache licenses during your cloud migration from on-premises or if your applications are running on multiple cloud platforms.

1. Cloud Migration (Reuse Licenses; Perpetual/Subscription): if you’re already using NCache on-premises or in another cloud (non-hosted), you can reuse your existing NCache licenses (subscription/perpetual) when migrating to Azure Cache for .NET by NCache. This means you only pay for the underlying Azure infrastructure and not NCache licenses.
2. Multi-Cloud (Reuse Licenses; Perpetual/Subscription): if you’re planning to use NCache in Azure, in another cloud like AWS or Google Cloud, and on-premises, you can share NCache licenses across all these environments. In Azure and other cloud platforms, you only pay for the underlying cloud infrastructure and not NCache licenses.

High Availability with Dynamic Scaling

Azure Cache for .NET by NCache provides high availability and dynamic scaling, as described below.

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  High Availability (Intelligent Replication): NCache provides intelligent replication within the cluster that is extremely fast and scalable. It offers Mirrored Cache, Replicated Cache, Partitioned Cache, and Partition-Replica Cache topologies for that purpose.
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  Dynamic Scaling: NCache architecture is based on dynamic clustering. This enables you to add or remove NCache servers at runtime without stopping the cache or your application.

  • Add Servers at Runtime: purchase the additional NCache servers. For NCache Cloud, they are quickly made available to you inside your deployment. For NCache Software, you need to purchase Azure VMs for these NCache servers (see details above). Then, use NCache Management Center (or command line tools) to add them to existing NCache clusters at runtime yourself without stopping your application.
  • Remove Servers at Runtime: use the NCache Management Center (or command line tools) to stop or remove an NCache server from the cluster without stopping your application or facing any data loss. Once the server is stopped, you can either restart it or discontinue it. If you discontinue it, then the underlying VM is deprovisioned.

WAN Replication across Azure Regions / Available Zones

Azure Cache for .NET by NCache lets you set up multi-region/multi-zone deployments and replicate data stored in NCache asynchronously across all of them.

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  2 Sites (Active-Active/Active-Passive): use for disaster recovery (DR) or geo-location near your target users.
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  3+ Sites (Active-Passive Combinations): use for geo-location near your target users.

You can create multiple NCache deployments in different regions or availability zones in Azure. For NCache Cloud (SaaS), Alachisoft creates a VNET peering across all of these so they can all see each other. For NCache Software, you can do the same yourself. This enables you to use NCache Bridge Topology to set up WAN replication across these deployments.

Free Trial (Managed / Non-Hosted)

NCache offers a 30-day free trial option as follows:

1. NCache Cloud Free Trial (Managed): register to sign up for a free 30-day trial of NCache Cloud. This is a fully managed and fully working trial of NCache with some sizing and performance limitations.
2. NCache Software Free Trial (Non-Hosted) (No Limits): get NCache Software (see details above). Then, activate a fully working 30-day trial on it by using the trial key you got by registering on our website. There are no performance or sizing limitations and you can install NCache on as many VMs as you wish during this trial.

NCache Clients

NCache has a server portion and a client portion. The client portion is something you can embed inside your application or install on your application server. You can obtain NCache Client from the following sources:

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  .NET Client (NuGet)
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  Java Client (Maven)
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  Node.js Client (Npm)
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  Python Client (PyPi)
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  Client Installer (Windows) (.msi)
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  Client Installer (Linux) (.tar.gz)

You can bundle the NCache Client libraries inside your .NET application and deploy them to Azure, AWS, or any other cloud. However, please note that bundled NCache Client libraries only provide an InProc Client Cache feature. The OutProc Client Cache is only possible if you install NCache Client through an installer (Windows or Linux).