title: I am looking for a distributed data/object cache for my ASP.NET MVC app
body: <p>I am looking for a distributed data (object) caching solution for my ASP.NET MVC app. Something alike Scale Out or NCache but preferably free.</p>
  
  <p>I believe the <code>System.Runtime.Caching.MemoryCache</code> is a single server implementation of a cache.</p>
  
  <p>I believe Azure has a distributed cache that ASP.NET apps can use but I am not sure of two things:</p>
  
  <p>1) I don't really know what Azure is except for having a vague understanding that it is a marketing name for some services Microsoft provides such as (1) the ability to deploy your app on their hardware infrastructure (what is popularly known as the cloud) and (2) a collective name for an offering of software infrastructure such as Visual Studio and Eclipse plug-ins, class libraries that can be used from inside your app, etc. to help you do (1).</p>
  
  <p>2) I am not sure if an ASP.NET application that I wish to deploy on my own hardware can use their Azure provided cache, as I read a vague assertion that went something like "Azure provides a distributed cache for ASP.NET apps that use Azure," which is becoming the fairly common, de facto standard for all communications from Microsoft.</p>
  
  <p>Help.</p>