Windows Azure Caching while debugging - Request Timeout

Question

I have a problem while using Windows Azure Caching with emulator (i.e., on Local, not Cloud).

My system configurations are:

• Windows 8
• Visual Studio 2012 Update 1
• Azure SDK and Emulator 1.8
• Windows Azure Caching 1.8.1
• Web API
• .NET 4.5

The problem is: Our server utilizes (in-role) Windows Azure Caching for session managements and etc. Once the server gets requests from clients, it starts communicating with Windows Azure Caching to put/get some objects (e.g., session objects). Then a "time-out" exception (Microsoft.ApplicationServer.Caching.DataCacheException) is occurred and the server becomes unresponsive, showing the following messages in the Output log of Visual Studio.

...
iisexpress.exe Error: 0 : ERROR: <DistributedCache.RoutingClient> 25cb6980-94c5-4e72-  adee-cd58defff7fe:SendMsgAndWait: Request TimedOut, msgId = 77

A first chance exception of type 'Microsoft.ApplicationServer.Caching.DataCacheException' occurred in Microsoft.ApplicationServer.Caching.Client.dll

'iisexpress.exe' (Managed (v4.0.30319)): Loaded 'C:\windows\assembly\GAC_MSIL\Microsoft.VisualStudio.Debugger.Runtime\11.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a\Microsoft.VisualStudio.Debugger.Runtime.dll'
iisexpress.exe Error: 0 : The thread '<No Name>' (0x16d0) has exited with code 0 (0x0).

The thread '<No Name>' (0x1a00) has exited with code 0 (0x0).
The thread '<No Name>' (0x2298) has exited with code 0 (0x0).

ERROR: <DistributedCache.RoutingClient> e91ff46b-870c-4d83-8eef-6bdb718baab9:SendMsgAndWait: Request TimedOut, msgId = 78

iisexpress.exe Warning: 0 : Microsoft.WindowsAzure.ServiceRuntime Verbose: 500 : Role instance status check starting

Microsoft.WindowsAzure.ServiceRuntime Verbose: 502 : Role instance status check succeeded: Ready

WARNING: <SimpleSendReceiveModule> DeadServerCallback Called, Server URI: [net.tcp://127.255.0.0:20004], Underlying exception - 

A first chance exception of type 'Microsoft.ApplicationServer.Caching.DataCacheException' occurred in Microsoft.ApplicationServer.Caching.Client.dll

iisexpress.exe Warning: 0 : WARNING: <SimpleSendReceiveModule> DeadServerCallback Called, Server URI: [net.tcp://127.255.0.0:20004], Underlying exception - 

iisexpress.exe Warning: 0 : WARNING: <SimpleSendReceiveModule> DeadServerCallback: Matches My Server, Cleaning Pending Requests

iisexpress.exe Warning: 0 : WARNING: <SimpleSendReceiveModule> 48c1dd7f-f54d-40a8-9990-25af48b91eb1:Request - 79, result - Status=SendFailed[System.Net.Sockets.SocketException (0x80004005): An existing connection was forcibly closed by the remote host

   at System.Net.Sockets.Socket.Send(IList`1 buffers)

   at Microsoft.ApplicationServer.Caching.TcpSocketChannel.Send(IList`1 buffers, TimeSpan timeout)]

iisexpress.exe Warning: 0 : WARNING: <SimpleSendReceiveModule> DeadServerCallback: Matches My Server, Cleaning Pending Requests

A first chance exception of type 'Microsoft.ApplicationServer.Caching.DataCacheException' occurred in Microsoft.ApplicationServer.Caching.Client.dll

iisexpress.exe Warning: 0 : WARNING: <DistributedCache.SocketClientChannel.1> Request 81 to host net.tcp://127.255.0.0:20004/ failed Status=ChannelOpening

iisexpress.exe Warning: 0 : WARNING: <DistributedCache.SocketClientChannel.1> Request 80 to host net.tcp://127.255.0.0:20004/ failed Status=ChannelOpening

iisexpress.exe Warning: 0 : WARNING: <SimpleSendReceiveModule> 8ec8ff74-1f04-49da-8ff5-529d0697542f:Request - 81, result - Status=ChannelOpening

iisexpress.exe Warning: 0 : A first chance exception of type 'Microsoft.ApplicationServer.Caching.DataCacheException' occurred in Microsoft.ApplicationServer.Caching.Client.dll

When this starts occurring, the server is just down (i.e., running, but not responsive).

Any idea why this happens? Is it related to Windows 8?

Thanks,

Answer 1

I also had this problem and traced it down to the Hyper-V Virtual Ethernet Adapters on one machine. Disabling the two adapters I had installed fixed the timeout errors in Azure Caching. On this machine I could continue to stay connected to the Network/Internet.

On another machine Hyper-V wasn't installed, and disabling the Ethernet Adapter (disconnecting from the internet) "fixed" the issue. So to run my application I must first disconnect from the network each time.

On both of these machines the development Azure caching appears to have a problem when doing an IP look-up for the cache servers (e.g. 127.255.0.0, 127.255.0.1, 127.255.0.2, etc), it works for a few requests, then starts timing out. When disconnected from the network it always works.

This was working fine for me on both Windows 8 machines for months before I started having issues.

Update

Flushing the DNS cache fixed this for me, now it works while connected to a network. ipconfig /flushdns