How to Install and Configure Memcached on Windows VPS

Introduction

Memcached is a high-performance, distributed memory caching system used to speed up dynamic web applications by caching data in memory. In this guide, we will walk you through the process of installing and configuring Memcached on a Windows VPS.

Prerequisites

Before starting the installation, ensure you have the following:

• A Windows VPS with administrative privileges.
• Windows Server 2016 or later, or Windows 10/11 installed.
• Internet access to download Memcached.

Step 1: Download Memcached

To begin the installation, first download the Memcached binary for Windows:

1. Visit the official Memcached download page at Memcached Downloads.
2. Download the latest Windows version of Memcached (e.g., the 64-bit version).

Step 2: Install Memcached

After downloading Memcached, follow these steps to install it on your Windows VPS:

1. Navigate to the folder where you downloaded the Memcached ZIP file.
2. Extract the contents of the ZIP file to a location, for example, C:\memcached.
3. Open the Command Prompt as an Administrator by right-clicking and selecting Run as Administrator.
4. Navigate to the Memcached folder:

   cd C:\memcached

5. To start Memcached, type the following command:

   memcached -d start

   This will start Memcached as a service in the background.

Step 3: Configure Memcached

You may want to configure Memcached to better suit your needs. Here’s how you can modify its settings:

• Set memory allocation: You can specify how much memory Memcached will use by adding the -m option when starting it. For example, to allocate 512MB of RAM:

  memcached -d start -m 512

• Set the default port: Memcached by default listens on port 11211. If you want to change the port, use the -p option:

  memcached -d start -p 11212

• Enable verbose mode: You can start Memcached in verbose mode to view debug output:

  memcached -d start -v

Step 4: Verify Memcached Installation

To confirm that Memcached is running properly on your Windows VPS, follow these steps:

1. Open the Command Prompt and type the following command:

   telnet localhost 11211

2. If Memcached is running, you should see a response similar to:

   Trying ::1...

   This confirms the Memcached service is accessible.

3. You can also use the stats command to view the status of the Memcached server:

   stats

Step 5: Set Memcached to Start Automatically

To ensure Memcached starts automatically every time your Windows VPS reboots, follow these steps:

1. Open the Command Prompt as an Administrator.
2. Navigate to the Memcached directory:

   cd C:\memcached

3. Run the following command to install Memcached as a service:

   memcached -d install

4. To start the Memcached service automatically on startup, run:

   net start memcached

Step 6: Troubleshooting

If you encounter any issues, here are some common troubleshooting steps:

• Make sure that port 11211 is open on your firewall and that no other services are using this port.
• Check the Memcached logs for any error messages.
• If Memcached is not starting, try running the command without the -d option to check for error messages.
• If you face issues with your Windows VPS, ensure that all system requirements are met.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have successfully installed and configured Memcached on your Windows VPS. You can now start using it to improve the performance of your applications by caching frequently accessed data.