Request timed out error when you use the DataAdapter method in an ASP.NET application

Article
01/25/2022

This article helps you resolve the problem where an error (Request Timed Out) occurs in an ASP.NET Web application.

Original product version: ASP.NET
Original KB number: 825739

Symptoms

When you use the DataAdapter.Fill method, or you run a query in an ASP.NET Web application that takes more than 90 seconds to process, you may receive the following error message:

HttpException (0x80004005): Request timed out.

This error occurs only when you run the Web application in release mode, and the value of the Debug attribute in the web.config file is set to false.

Cause

By default, the value of the executionTimeout attribute is set to 90 seconds in the Machine.config file. This error occurs when the processing time exceeds 90 seconds.

Workaround

To work around this problem, increase the time-out value that is set for the executionTimeout attribute in the configuration file.

The executionTimeout attribute exists under <httpRequest> in the Machine.config file. You can change these settings either in the web.config file or in the Machine.config file. The default value for the time-out is 90 seconds. The executionTimeout attribute indicates the maximum number of seconds a request is permitted to run before being shut down by the ASP.NET Web application.

Method 1: Set the ExecutionTimeout attribute value in the Web.config file

Open the web.config file in Notepad.

Add the <httpRuntime> element in the <system.web> section as follows:

<configuration>
    <system.web>
        <httpRuntime executionTimeout="90" maxRequestLength="4096" useFullyQualifiedRedirectUrl="false"
        minFreeThreads="8" minLocalRequestFreeThreads="4" appRequestQueueLimit="100" />
    </system.web>
</configuration>

Modify the value of the executionTimeout attribute to avoid time-out errors.
Save the web.config file.

Method 2: Set the ExecutionTimeout attribute value in the Machine.config file

Open the Machine.config file in Notepad. The Machine.config file is located in the %SystemRoot%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\%VersionNumber%\CONFIG\ directory.

In the Machine.config file, locate the <httpRuntime> element. The web.config file is located in the Web Application directory.

<httpRuntime executionTimeout="90" maxRequestLength="4096" useFullyQualifiedRedirectUrl="false"
minFreeThreads="8" minLocalRequestFreeThreads="4" appRequestQueueLimit="100" />

Modify the value of the executionTimeout attribute to avoid time-out errors.
Save the Machine.config file.

Status

This behavior is by design.

Steps to reproduce the behavior

Start Microsoft Visual Studio .NET.
On the File menu, point to New, and then select Project.
Select Visual Basic Projects under Project Types, and then select ASP.NET Web Application under Templates. By default, WebForm1.aspx is created.
In Design view, right-click WebForm1, and then select View Code.

To add the database connection and the DataAdapter method to fill the dataset, replace the existing code with the following code:

Imports System.Data.SqlClient
Public Class WebForm1
   Inherits System.Web.UI.Page

   Private Sub Page_Load(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
      Try
         Dim sConnectionString As String
         sConnectionString = "server=servername;uid=sa;pwd=password;database=testdatabase;"
         Dim objConn As SqlConnection
         objConn = New SqlConnection(sConnectionString)
         objConn.Open()

         Dim daAuthors As SqlDataAdapter

         'Increase the no.of records from existing value, if execution time is less than 90 sec.
         daAuthors = New SqlDataAdapter("Select top 60000 * From timelog (nolock)", objConn)
         Dim myDs As DataSet
         myDs = New DataSet("testTimelog")
         Dim dt As DateTime
         dt = New DateTime()
         dt = dt.Now
         Response.Write("StartTime of DataAdapter fill - " + dt)
         daAuthors.Fill(myDs, "testTimelog")

         dt = New DateTime()
         dt = dt.Now
         Response.Write("<br>EndTime of DataAdapter fill - " + dt)
         Response.Write("<br>No of Rows = " + myDs.Tables(0).Rows.Count.ToString())

      Catch ex As Exception
         Response.Write(ex.ToString())
      End Try
   End Sub
End Class

Open the web.config file in Notepad, and then set the value for the Debug attribute to false as follows:

<configuration>
    <system.web>
        <compilation defaultLanguage="vb" debug="false" />
    </system.web>
</configuration>

Set the application to build in release mode. To do this, follow these steps:
1. In Solution Explorer, right-click your project.
2. Select Properties, and then select Configuration Manager.
3. Select Release under Active Solution Configuration, and then select Close.
4. Select OK.
On the Debug menu, select Start to build and run the project. You may receive the error message that the Symptoms section describes.

Note

The default value for the time-out as set in the Machine.config file is 90 seconds. If the process time is less than 90 seconds, increase the processing time by increasing the number of records to be fetched.

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