Microsoft AppFabric 1.1 for Windows Server Ends Support 4/2/2016

**UPDATE** AppFabric 1.1 for Windows Server Support Lifecycle has been changed to 4/11/2017, please see new blog post for more information

Microsoft AppFabric 1.1 for Windows Server will end Microsoft Support one year from today’s announcement, which dates April 2, 2016.

AppFabric 1.1 for Windows Server provides hosting, management and caching capabilities for Web applications and middle-tier services. This tool makes it easier to build, scale and manage applications, in particular those built using ASP.NET, Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) and Windows Workflow Foundation (WF).

Microsoft recommends all applications currently using AppFabric 1.1 for Windows Server to migrate off this technology by April 2, 2016, following the below suggestions.

Application Cache:

Microsoft Azure Redis Cache is based on the popular open source Redis Cache. It gives you access to a secure, dedicated Redis cache, managed and fully supported by Microsoft, so you can focus on your application rather than the infrastructure. We recommend all Microsoft AppFabric customers using Cache to move to Microsoft Azure Redis Cache.

For those who require on premise caching solution, Redis on Windows is available from MSOpen Tech. Microsoft Azure Redis Cache is built off this Windows port, which will continue to be updated alongside improvements for the service.

For migration to Redis, customers should review the following guide: Migrate from Managed Cache Service to Azure Redis Cache

For hosting Redis yourself, while most customers are very satisfied with the level of support provided from open source community, if you require an official support channel for your caching technology, we recommend to look into NCache or any other Caching solution.

Hosting:

The hosting functionality provided by Microsoft AppFabric for Windows Server is an additional layer built on top of Internet Information Services (IIS) to help simplify the management of services and hosting services on IIS. Customers can choose to manually host these services on Internet Information Services (IIS).

Management/Monitoring of Services and Workflows:

The monitoring feature in Microsoft AppFabric for Windows Server gives users an administrative UI built into the IIS Manager to configure, control and monitor applications. For applications utilizing the management and monitoring functionality of AppFabric, custom solutions can be built which will produce the same results. These custom solutions can best monitor the information from a specific application or service.