ASP.NET - worker threads, IO threads, and free threads

Question

I've read through this page on some improvements that can be made for an ASP.NET application. However, I'm still not sure how maxWorkerThreads, maxIoThreads, and minFreeThreads functions together.

From what I understand, the minFreeThreads setting specifies the minimum number of worker threads available for callbacks, etc.... If I have a page that makes an asynchronous call to a web service, does this call use one of these free threads or does it use an IO thread? When does an IO thread get used and when are these free threads used?

Answer 1

I believe that I/O threads are consumed (and released) in regards to I/O operations (System.IO namespace). I'm guessing that this would typically disk reads/writes. This resource is a bit old, but I think most of the concepts have remained the same.

http://www.guidanceshare.com/wiki/ASP.NET_2.0_Performance_Guidelines_-_Threading