Configuring Out-of-Process Session State with the ASP.NET State Service

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Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 with SP1

If you decide to manage session state by using the ASP.NET state service, you must determine whether you are going to maintain session state for a Web garden or a Web farm. Then you need to ensure that the ASP.NET state service (Aspnet_state.exe) is running and, that it is configured to start automatically.

Configure out-of-process session state with the ASP.NET state service by completing one of the following tasks:

  • If you are configuring session state for a Web garden, then configure the ASP.NET state service on the local Web server.

    For more information about configuring the ASP.NET state service on the local Web server, see Configure the State Service on the ASP.NET State Server.

  • If you are configuring session state for a Web farm, then complete the following steps:

    1. Install Windows Server 2003 on separate computer that will run the ASP.NET state service.

      The ASP.NET state service is installed as part of the .NET Framework with Windows Server 2003. Install Windows Server 2003 by using the process described in Installing Windows Server 2003_IIS_SP1_Dep earlier in this section.

    2. Configure the ASP.NET state service on the newly installed Web server.

      For more information about configuring the ASP.NET state service on the new server, see Configure the State Service on the ASP.NET State Server.