Optimizing the Performance of Aptify e-Business

Madhuri Dange

April 22, 2024 14:48

This topic provides a procedure that can be used to optimize the performance of an Aptify e-Business environment by reducing the loading times for your e-Business site. To complete this procedure, perform the actions described in the following sections:

Installing and Configuring the Microsoft Application Initialization Module
Updating the applicationHost.config File
Keeping the Bin Folder Small
Adding the isstart.htm File to the Project Main Folder
Updating the Web.config File
Installing the CodePlex Keep Alive Service
Validating Sitefinity Output Caching Settings
Validating Sitefinity Standard Caching Settings

Installing and Configuring the Microsoft Application Initialization Module

Loading times for an e-Business site can be reduced using the Microsoft Application Initialization Module for Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS).

If you are running IIS 7.5 on your e-Business site, the Application Initialization Module is a separate application. You can download and install the Application Initialization Module from the following URL:

http://www.iis.net/downloads/microsoft/application-initialization

If you are running IIS 8.0, the Application Initialization Module is integrated into IIS.

For more information about configuring the Application Initialization Module, refer to the following URL:

http://www.iis.net/learn/get-started/whats-new-in-iis-8/iis-80-application-initialization

When finished, proceed to Updating the applicationHost.config File

Updating the applicationHost.config File

The next step is to update the applicationHost.config file to keep the e-Business applications running, which reduces site start-up time. The default location of the applicationHost.config file in the e-Business server is C:\Windows\System32\inetsrv\config.

To update the applicationHost.config file, perform the following steps:

Locate the applicationHost.config file.
Open the file in a text editor, such as Notepad.
Find the applicationPools section.

Add the bolded text to the applicationPools section:

<applicationPools>
<add name="appinit" autoStart="true" startMode="AlwaysRunning" managedRuntimeVersion="v4.0" />
</applicationPools>

Find the sites section.

Add the bolded text to the sites section:

<sites>
  <site name="Default Web Site" id="1" serverAutoStart="true">
        <application path="/">
          <virtualDirectory path="/" physicalPath="%SystemDrive%\inetpub\wwwroot"/>
        </application>
        <application path=" /Ebusiness" applicationPool=" AptifyEBusiness" preloadEnabled="true">
          <virtualDirectory path="/" physicalPath="C:\inetpub\wwwroot\Ebusiness " />
        </application>
   </site>
</sites>

Save and close the file.
Proceed to Keeping the Bin Folder Small.

Keeping the Bin Folder Small

Another way to reduce the start-up time for an e-Business site is to keep the size of the bin folder small.

Contact Support for an example of small bin folder that you can use as a starting point for your site (by replacing your existing e-Business bin).

When complete, proceed to Adding the isstart.htm File to the Project Main Folder.

Adding the isstart.htm File to the Project Main Folder

Perform the following steps to add the iisstart.htm file to the Project Main folder on your e-Business server.

Open a text editor such as Notepad.

Copy and paste the following into your text editor session:

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" />
<title>IIS7</title>
<style type="text/css">
<!--
body {
      color:#000000;
      background-color:#B3B3B3;
      margin:0;
} 
#container {
      margin-left:auto;
      margin-right:auto;
      text-align:center;
} 
a img {
      border:none;
} 
-->
</style>
</head>
<body>
<div id="container">
<p>Please be patient while the site starts up. Wait a few moments and then try to reload the site.</p>
</div>
</body>
</html>

Save the text as iisstart.htm, and exit the text editor.
Move the iisstart.htm file to the Project Main folder, such as C:\inetpub\wwwroot.
Proceed to Updating the Web.config File.

Updating the Web.config File

The next step is to update the web.config file to call the iisstart.htm file, which reduces site start-up time. The default location of the web.config file on the e-Business server is C:\inetpub\wwwroot.

To update the web.config file, perform the following steps:

Locate the web.config file.
Open the file in a text editor, such as Notepad.
Find the <system.webserver> section.

Update the <system.webserver> section to match the following:

<system.webserver>
   <applicationInitialization remapManagedRequestsTo="iisstart.htm" skipManagedModules="true">
      <add initializationPage="/home.aspx" />
   </applicationInitialization>  
</system.webserver>

Save and close the web.config file.
Proceed to Installing the CodePlex Keep Alive Service.

Installing the CodePlex Keep Alive Service

If your e-Business environment uses Microsoft IIS 7.5, you can reduce site startup times by downloading and installing the CodePlex Keep Alive service on your e-Business service. If your e-Business environment uses another version of IIS, proceed to Validating Sitefinity Output Caching Settings.

To download and install the Keep Alive service, click the following link:

http://keepalive.codeplex.com/downloads/get/146350

For more information about this service, see the information on the following page:

http://keepalive.codeplex.com/releases/view/51388

If your e-Business environment does not use as a CMS, the procedure is complete. If your e-Business environment does use a CMS, proceed to Validating Sitefinity Output Caching Settings.

Validating Sitefinity Output Caching Settings

If your e-Business environment uses Sitefinity, validate that the output caching settings are configured as follows:

In the Sitefinity administration tool: go to: Administration > Settings > Advanced > System > Output Cache Settings.
The Enable Output Cache and Enable Client Cache options should be selected.
If the settings are correct, proceed to the next section.
If the settings are incorrect, select the options as necessary and click Save changes.
If you changed any settings, logout of Sitefinity and restart IIS.
Proceed to Validating Sitefinity Standard Caching Settings.

Validating Sitefinity Standard Caching Settings

If your e-Business environment uses Sitefinity, validate that the standard caching settings are configured as follows:

In the Sitefinity administration tool: go to: Administration > Settings > Advanced > System > Output Cache Settings > Output Cache Profiles > Standard Caching.
The value in the Duration field should be set to 120.
If the settings are correct, the procedure is complete.
If the settings are incorrect, enter 120 in the Duration field and click Save changes.
If you changed any settings, logout of Sitefinity and restart IIS.
The procedure is complete.