Skip to main content

.Net5 Web API Redis Cache Using StackExchange.Redis.Extensions.AspNetCore Library

In this article, we are going to explore the integration of Redis cache in .Net5 Web API application using the 'StackExchange.Redis.Exntensions' library.

Note:- Microsoft has introduced an 'IDistributedCache' interface in dotnet core which supports different cache stores like In-Memory, Redis, NCache, etc. It is simple and easy to work with  'IDistributedCache', for the Redis store with limited features but if we want more features of the Redis store we can choose to use 'StackExchange.Redis.Extensions'. Click here for Redis Cache Integration Using IDistributedCache Interface.

Overview On StackExchange.Redis.Extnesions Library:

The 'StackExchange.Redis.Extension' library extended from the main library 'StackExchange.Redis'. Some of the key features of this library like:
  • Default serialization and deserialization.
  • Easy to save and fetch complex objects.
  • Search key.
  • Multiple Database Access

Setup Redis Docker Instance:

For this sample to use Redis instance locally we will use Docker. If you don't have any prior knowledge on docker, not a problem just follow the steps below. Click here for a video session on Redis docker setup
Note:
Skip this section if you already have redis direct instance or azure or any cloud provider that have redis
Step1:
Download docker into our local system "https://docs.docker.com/desktop/". Docker was available for all desktop operating systems.
Step2:
After downloading the docker installer, then install it. Now to run any docker containers(eg: Redis, MongoDB, PostgreSQL, etc) this docker instance we just installed should be active(should be running).
Step3:
Now we need to pull the docker Redis image from the docker hub "https://hub.docker.com/_/redis".
Command To Pull Redis Image:
docker pull redis
Step4:
The final step to run the docker Redis image container by mapping our local system port. By default, the Redis instance runs with the '6379' default port inside of the docker container. So to access the Redis we need to port mapping on starting off the container.
Command To Start Redis Container:
docker run --name your_containerName -p your_PortNumber:6379 -d redis
The '--name your_containerName' flag to specify the Redis container name. The '-p your_PortNumber:6379' mapping the Redis port '6379' to our local machine port all our application will use local machine port to communicate with Redis. The '-d' flag represents to run the container in the detached mode which means run in the background. At the last of the command 'redis' to specify the image to run in our container.
Step5:
After creating a docker container, it will be stored in our local machine so to start again the container any time run the following command
docker start your_container_name

Step6:(Optional Step)
Let test our Redis instance

Command To Use Redis CLI
docker exec -it your_docker_container_name redis-cli

Create .Net5 Or .NetCore Sample Web API Application:

Let's begin coding to understand Redis cache integration by creating a sample Web API application. The IDE for development is an individual choice but the most recommended are Visual Studio 2019 and Visual Studio Code.

Redis NuGet Packages:

Package Manager Commands:(Visual Studio)
Install-Package StackExchange.Redis.Extensions.AspNetCore
Install-Package StackExchange.Redis.Extensions.Newtonsoft
.Net CLI Commands:(Visual Studo Code)
dotnet add packages StackExchange.Redis.Extensions.AspNetCore
dotnet add packages StackExchange.Redis.Extensions.Newtonsoft

Add Redis JSON Configuration:

All redis settings to communicate with redis store are going to add in appsettings file.
appsettings.Development.json:
"Redis": {
 "Password": "",
 "AllowAdmin": false,
 "Ssl": false,
 "ConnectTimeout": 6000,
 "ConnectRetry": 2,
 "Hosts": [
  {
   "Host": "localhost",
   "Port": "5003"
  }
 ],
 "Database": 0
}
Password - The password for your Redis instance if have(For Production always create a password).
AllowAdmin - The AllowAdmin permissions.
Ssl - The Ssl boolean property to define the communication protocol.
ConnectTimeout - Specify the Redis ConnectionTimeout in milliseconds
ConnectRetry - Number attempts to retry to setup initial connection.
Hosts - Contains a list of Redis instances hostname and port number.
Database- Defining database to communicate, it names are in integers.

Register AddStackExchangeRedisExtensions Service:

Now register register AddStackExchangeRedisExtension in startup file.
Startup.cs:
services.AddStackExchangeRedisExtensions<NewtonsoftSerializer>((options) =>
{
  return Configuration.GetSection("Redis").Get<RedisConfiguration>();
});
  • Registered Redis extension serializer with 'StackExchange.Redis.Extensions.Newtonsoft.NewtonsoftSerializer'
  • Fetching 'Redis' JSON configuration and creating as an instance of type 'StackExchange.Redis.Extensions.Core.Confiugration.ReditConfigurtion'.

Inject IRedisCacheClient:

The 'StackExchange.Redis.Extensions.Core.Abstractions.IRedisCacheClient' provides us Redis context. Using this 'IRedisCacheClient' we have the ability to query, save, filter, delete operations on Redis Store.

Let's create a 'TestController' and then inject the 'IRedisCacheClient' interface.
Controllers/TestController.cs:
using StackExchange.Redis.Extensions.Core.Abstractions;
namespace stackexchangeExtension.redis.sample.Controllers
{
  [ApiController]
  [Route("[controller]")]
  public class TestController : ControllerBase
  {
	private readonly IRedisCacheClient _redisCacheClient;
	public TestController(IRedisCacheClient redisCacheClient)
	{
	  _redisCacheClient = redisCacheClient;
	}
  }
}

AddAsync And GetAsync:

The 'IRedisCacheClient' provides method like 'AddAsync' and 'GetAsync'. The 'AddAsync' method for saving data to Redis store, this can store a simple string type or a complex object type(serialized objects implicitly before saving) and it also provides an option to specify an expiration time for the record in Redis store. The 'GetAsync' method fetches the data from the store with respect to the key we provide, it also provides flexibility to define the type of object for the result, after successfully receiving the result string this method will typecast the result to the type defined.
Controllers/TestController.cs:
[HttpGet]
[Route("get-set-cache")]
public async Task<IActionResult> GetSetCache()
{
  await _redisCacheClient.GetDbFromConfiguration().AddAsync<string>("myName", "naveen",DateTimeOffset.Now.AddMinutes(2));
  return Ok(await _redisCacheClient.GetDbFromConfiguration().GetAsync<string>("myName"));
}
  • (Line: 5) Saving string data to Redis store and specified the expiration for the record.
  • (Line: 6) Fetching string data from Redis store
  • The 'GetDbFromConfiguration' pics the Redis database value from our JSON configuration.
Now let's see another sample to store an object so let's create a sample model object as below.
Models/Student.cs:
namespace stackexchangeExtension.redis.sample.Models
{
  public class Student
  {
	public int Id { get; set; }
	public string Name { get; set; }
	public ContactDetails ContactDetails { get; set; }
  }

  public class ContactDetails
  {
	public string Email { get; set; }
	public string Phone { get; set; }
  }
}
Controllers/TestController.cs:
[HttpGet]
[Route("get-set-type-cache")]
public async Task<IActionResult> GetSetObjectCach()
{
  var student = new Student{
	Id = 1,
	Name = "naveen",
	ContactDetails = new ContactDetails{
	Email = "naveen@gmail.com",
	Phone = "1234567890"
	}
  };
  await _redisCacheClient.GetDbFromConfiguration().AddAsync<Student>("my_student", student, DateTimeOffset.Now.AddHours(1));
  return Ok(await _redisCacheClient.GetDbFromConfiguration().GetAsync<Student>("my_student"));
}
  • (Line: 13) Here we passed directly object as an input parameter. The 'AddAsync()' method serializes our object implicitly before saving it to the Redis store.
  • (Line: 14) Here fetches string value from the Redis store but typecast the string value to type we specified by the  'GetAsync' method.

AddAllAsync And GetAllAsync:

The 'AddAllAsync' method can save multiple objects of the same type as multiple records in the Redis store with a single call which gives performance benefits. The 'GetAllAsync' method takes collection keys whose value type same will be fetched from the Redis store with a single Redis call which also gives performance benefits.
Controllers/TestController.cs:
[HttpGet]
[Route("get-set-multi-cache")]
public async Task<IActionResult> GetSetListCache()
{
  var contact1 = new ContactDetails{
   Email = "naveen@gmail.com",
   Phone = "1234567890"
  };
  var contact2 = new ContactDetails{
   Email = "hemanth@gmail.com",
   Phone = "0987654321"
  };

  var itemsToCache = new List<Tuple<string, ContactDetails>>();
  itemsToCache.Add(new Tuple<string, ContactDetails>("contact_1", contact1));
  itemsToCache.Add(new Tuple<string, ContactDetails>("contact_2", contact2));

  await _redisCacheClient.GetDbFromConfiguration().AddAllAsync(itemsToCache, DateTimeOffset.Now.AddHours(1));

  var dataFromCache = await _redisCacheClient.GetDbFromConfiguration().GetAllAsync<ContactDetails>(new List<string>{"contact_1","contact_2"});
  return Ok(dataFromCache);
}
  • (Line: 15-16) Creating a collection of records to be saved to the Redis store.
  • (Line: 18) The 'AddAllAsync' method inserts each item in the collection of its input parameter into the Redis store as an individual record one time contacting the Redis store.
  • (Line: 20)The 'GetAllAsync' method fetches a collection of Redis records within a single call with respect to the collection ok keys passed to it.

SearchKeysAsync:

The 'SearchKeysAsync' method fetches all the Redis store keys that are matched with the pattern specified to the method.
Controllers/TestController.cs:
[HttpGet]
[Route("search-cache-keys")]
public async Task<IActionResult> SearchKeys()
{
  // _redisCacheClient.GetDbFromConfiguration().SearchKeysAsync("*con*")
  var allKeys = (await _redisCacheClient.GetDbFromConfiguration().SearchKeysAsync("*")).ToList();
  return Ok(allKeys);
}
  • (Line: 6) For the 'SearchKeysAsync' method given pattern "*" which means match any letter, so this fetches all keys from the Redis store.
  • (Line: 5) The pattern "*con*" means matches the key that contains the string "con" and can contain any prefix and postfix string(eg: keywords like 'bbbconbb', 'conb', etc).

RemoveAsync And RemoveAllAsync:

The 'RemoveAsync' method removes the record from the Redis store with respect to the key passed.
Controllers/TestController.cs:
[HttpGet]
[Route("remove")]
public async Task<IActionResult> Remove()
{
  await _redisCacheClient.GetDbFromConfiguration().RemoveAsync("test");
  return Ok();
}
The 'RemoveAllAsync' method is a performance booster method that removes the collection of Redis records in a single Redis call with respect to the collection keys passed as its parameters.
Controllers/TestController.cs:
[HttpGet]
[Route("remove-multiple")]
public async Task<IActionResult> RemoveMultiple()
{
  var allKeys = (await _redisCacheClient.GetDbFromConfiguration().SearchKeysAsync("contact*")).ToList();
  await _redisCacheClient.GetDbFromConfiguration().RemoveAllAsync(allKeys);
  return Ok();
}
  • Here fetching the pattern matching collection of keys and clearing those records using the 'RemoveAllAsync' method.

FlushDbAsync:

Clears all records from the Redis store database.
Controllers/TestController.cs:
[HttpGet]
[Route("clear")]
public async Task<IActionResult> Clear()
{
  await _redisCacheClient.GetDbFromConfiguration().FlushDbAsync();
  return Ok();
}
That's all about some of the useful methods of StackExchange.Redis.Extensions library.

Support Me!
Buy Me A Coffee PayPal Me

Wrapping Up:

Hopefully, I think this article delivered some useful information on setting up a Redis instance using docker and then consuming the Redis cache into our API application using 'StackeExchange.RedisExtensions' library. I love to have your feedback, suggestions, and better techniques in the comment section below.

Refer:

Follow Me:

Comments

  1. How can we do thread safe operations with StackExchange.Redis.Extensions.ApsNetCore ?

    For example increment of some integer on some object, or setting some string property on the object?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you very much. It helped me understand the concept.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for the article! Small typo APSNetCore
    Install-Package StackExchange.Redis.Extensions.ApsNetCore

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I still see ApsNetCore (instead of AspNetCore, I copy-pasted it and package manager did not find it) :)

      Delete
  4. One more thing - as I see from the sources, we can inject IRedisDatabase, not to call GetDbFromConfiguration every time:
    https://github.com/imperugo/StackExchange.Redis.Extensions/blob/master/src/aspnet/StackExchange.Redis.Extensions.AspNetCore/Extensions/IServiceCollectionExtensions.cs

    ReplyDelete
  5. Could you please provide me source code for .net 6.0 and Redis cache integration.
    I need to add Redis Sets and Hashes.

    ReplyDelete
  6. How can we integrate Sliding Expiry ?

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Angular 14 Reactive Forms Example

In this article, we will explore the Angular(14) reactive forms with an example. Reactive Forms: Angular reactive forms support model-driven techniques to handle the form's input values. The reactive forms state is immutable, any form filed change creates a new state for the form. Reactive forms are built around observable streams, where form inputs and values are provided as streams of input values, which can be accessed synchronously. Some key notations that involve in reactive forms are like: FormControl - each input element in the form is 'FormControl'. The 'FormControl' tracks the value and validation status of form fields. FormGroup - Track the value and validate the state of the group of 'FormControl'. FormBuilder - Angular service which can be used to create the 'FormGroup' or FormControl instance quickly. Form Array - That can hold infinite form control, this helps to create dynamic forms. Create An Angular(14) Application: Let'

.NET 7 Web API CRUD Using Entity Framework Core

In this article, we are going to implement a sample .NET 7 Web API CRUD using the Entity Framework Core. Web API: Web API is a framework for building HTTP services that can be accessed from any client like browser, mobile devices, and desktop apps. In simple terminology API(Application Programming Interface) means an interface module that contains programming functions that can be requested via HTTP calls either to fetch or update data for their respective clients. Some of the Key Characteristics of API: Supports HTTP verbs like 'GET', 'POST', 'PUT', 'DELETE', etc. Supports default responses like 'XML' and 'JSON'. Also can define custom responses. Supports self-hosting or individual hosting, so that all different kinds of apps can consume it. Authentication and Authorization are easy to implement. The ideal platform to build the REST full services. Install The SQL Server And SQL Management Studio: Let's install the SQL server on our l

ReactJS(v18) JWT Authentication Using HTTP Only Cookie

In this article, we will implement the ReactJS application authentication using the HTTP-only cookie. HTTP Only Cookie: In a SPA(Single Page Application) Authentication JWT token either can be stored in browser 'LocalStorage' or in 'Cookie'. Storing the JWT token inside of the cookie then the cookie should be HTTP Only. The HTTP-ONly cookie nature is that it will be only accessible by the server application. Client apps like javascript-based apps can't access the HTTP-Only cookie. So if we use the authentication with HTTP-only JWT cookie then we no need to implement the custom logic like adding authorization header or storing token data, etc at our client application. Because once the user authenticated cookie will be automatically sent to the server by the browser on every API call. Authentication API: To authenticate our client application with JWT HTTP-only cookie, I developed a NetJS(which is a node) Mock API. Check the GitHub link and read the document on G

.NET6 Web API CRUD Operation With Entity Framework Core

In this article, we are going to do a small demo on AspNetCore 6 Web API CRUD operations. What Is Web API: Web API is a framework for building HTTP services that can be accessed from any client like browser, mobile devices, desktop apps. In simple terminology API(Application Programming Interface) means an interface module that contains a programming function that can be requested via HTTP calls to save or fetch the data for their respective clients. Some of the key characteristics of API: Supports HTTP verbs like 'GET', 'POST', 'PUT', 'DELETE', etc. Supports default responses like 'XML' and 'JSON'. Also can define custom responses. Supports self-hosting or individual hosting, so that all different kinds of apps can consume it. Authentication and Authorization are easy to implement. The ideal platform to build REST full services. Create A .NET6 Web API Application: Let's create a .Net6 Web API sample application to accomplish our

Angular 14 State Management CRUD Example With NgRx(14)

In this article, we are going to implement the Angular(14) state management CRUD example with NgRx(14) NgRx Store For State Management: In an angular application to share consistent data between multiple components, we use NgRx state management. Using NgRx state helps to avoid unwanted API calls, easy to maintain consistent data, etc. The main building blocks for the NgRx store are: Actions - NgRx actions represents event to trigger the reducers to save the data into the stores. Reducer - Reducer's pure function, which is used to create a new state on data change. Store - The store is the model or entity that holds the data. Selector - Selector to fetch the slices of data from the store to angular components. Effects - Effects deals with external network calls like API. The effect gets executed based the action performed Ngrx State Management flow: The angular component needs data for binding.  So angular component calls an action that is responsible for invoking the API call.  Aft

Angular 14 Crud Example

In this article, we will implement CRUD operation in the Angular 14 application. Angular: Angular is a framework that can be used to build a single-page application. Angular applications are built with components that make our code simple and clean. Angular components compose of 3 files like TypeScript File(*.ts), Html File(*.html), CSS File(*.cs) Components typescript file and HTML file support 2-way binding which means data flow is bi-directional Component typescript file listens for all HTML events from the HTML file. Create Angular(14) Application: Let's create an Angular(14) application to begin our sample. Make sure to install the Angular CLI tool into our local machine because it provides easy CLI commands to play with the angular application. Command To Install Angular CLI npm install -g @angular/cli Run the below command to create the angular application. Command To Create Angular Application ng new name_of_your_app Note: While creating the app, you will see a noti

Unit Testing Asp.NetCore Web API Using xUnit[.NET6]

In this article, we are going to write test cases to an Asp.NetCore Web API(.NET6) application using the xUnit. xUnit For .NET: The xUnit for .Net is a free, open-source, community-focused unit testing tool for .NET applications. By default .Net also provides a xUnit project template to implement test cases. Unit test cases build upon the 'AAA' formula that means 'Arrange', 'Act' and 'Assert' Arrange - Declaring variables, objects, instantiating mocks, etc. Act - Calling or invoking the method that needs to be tested. Assert - The assert ensures that code behaves as expected means yielding expected output. Create An API And Unit Test Projects: Let's create a .Net6 Web API and xUnit sample applications to accomplish our demo. We can use either Visual Studio 2022 or Visual Studio Code(using .NET CLI commands) to create any.Net6 application. For this demo, I'm using the 'Visual Studio Code'(using the .NET CLI command) editor. Create a fo

Part-1 Angular JWT Authentication Using HTTP Only Cookie[Angular V13]

In this article, we are going to implement a sample angular application authentication using HTTP only cookie that contains a JWT token. HTTP Only JWT Cookie: In a SPA(Single Page Application) Authentication JWT token either can be stored in browser 'LocalStorage' or in 'Cookie'. Storing JWT token inside of the cookie then the cookie should be HTTP Only. The HTTP-Only cookie nature is that it will be only accessible by the server application. Client apps like javascript-based apps can't access the HTTP-Only cookie. So if we use authentication with HTTP only JWT cookie then we no need to implement custom logic like adding authorization header or storing token data, etc at our client application. Because once the user authenticated cookie will be automatically sent to the server by the browser on every API call. Authentication API: To implement JWT cookie authentication we need to set up an API. For that, I had created a mock authentication API(Using the NestJS Se

ReactJS(v18) Authentication With JWT AccessToken And Refresh Token

In this article, we are going to do ReactJS(v18) application authentication using the JWT Access Token and Refresh Token. JSON Web Token(JWT): JSON Web Token is a digitally signed and secured token for user validation. The JWT is constructed with 3 important parts: Header Payload Signature Create ReactJS Application: Let's create a ReactJS application to accomplish our demo. npx create-react-app name-of-your-app Configure React Bootstrap Library: Let's install the React Bootstrap library npm install react-bootstrap bootstrap Now add the bootstrap CSS reference in 'index.js'. src/index.js: import 'bootstrap/dist/css/bootstrap.min.css' Create A React Component 'Layout': Let's add a React component like 'Layout' in 'components/shared' folders(new folders). src/components/shared/Layout.js: import Navbar from "react-bootstrap/Navbar"; import { Container } from "react-bootstrap"; import Nav from "react-boot

A Small Guide On NestJS Queues

NestJS Application Queues helps to deal with application scaling and performance challenges. When To Use Queues?: API request that mostly involves in time taking operations like CPU bound operation, doing them synchronously which will result in thread blocking. So to avoid these issues, it is an appropriate way to make the CPU-bound operation separate background job.  In nestjs one of the best solutions for these kinds of tasks is to implement the Queues. For queueing mechanism in the nestjs application most recommended library is '@nestjs/bull'(Bull is nodejs queue library). The 'Bull' depends on Redis cache for data storage like a job. So in this queueing technique, we will create services like 'Producer' and 'Consumer'. The 'Producer' is used to push our jobs into the Redis stores. The consumer will read those jobs(eg: CPU Bound Operations) and process them. So by using this queues technique user requests processed very fastly because actually