ASP.NET - Web Server Performance Tuning

Performance tuning improves how fast a web server responds to requests. It helps reduce delays, use hardware efficiently and handle more users at the same time. Small adjustments can noticeably increase responsiveness without changing core application logic.

Optimizing Request Limits
Web servers handle only a certain number of requests at once. Increasing request queues and connection limits prevents dropped requests during peak load. This allows the server to keep accepting traffic instead of rejecting or slowing down responses when many users connect together.

Caching Static Content
Images, scripts and stylesheets do not change often. Serving them from cache rather than regenerating responses saves processing time. This keeps the server free to handle dynamic requests and reduces disk or database activity. Cached responses return much faster for users.

Compression and Minification
Compression reduces the size of data sent to the browser. Enabled efficiently, it lowers bandwidth use and speeds up page delivery. Minifying scripts and styles removes characters that browsers do not need. These steps reduce transfer time without changing functionality.

Connection and Timeout Settings
Web servers maintain open connections for clients. Lowering connection timeout helps release resources from slow or idle browsers. Setting maximum connection values protects the server from overload and ensures fair usage across users. These settings help balance speed and stability.

Load Balancing and Scaling
When one server cannot handle all traffic, spreading requests across multiple servers increases capacity. Load balancers direct users to the least busy instance. This keeps response times steady and supports high availability. Scaling horizontally offers predictable performance increases.

Example (Kestrel Settings in appsettings.json)

{
  "Kestrel": {
    "Limits": {
      "MaxConcurrentConnections": 100,
      "MaxConcurrentUpgradedConnections": 50,
      "MaxRequestBodySize": 10485760
    },
    "RequestTimeout": "00:00:10"
  }
}

These limits allow the server to handle more traffic while preventing oversized or slow requests from blocking resources.