Where is the best place to store user related data in asp.net?

Question

When a customer logs in to my site, I need to know their account id and their menu id. This lets me know what data they can see on a page and what menu they get. I don't want to have to read this data over and over. Should I store this in a session variable or customize the membership user and membership provider to contain this information?

Answer 1

The profile system would probably suit your needs.

Answer 2

As already suggested, the profile system is super easy.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/2y3fs9xs.aspx

Answer 3

I've used MS Table Profile Provider which allows you to specify your own database table structre to store the data rather than the XML schema used in the default profile system.

This has the added bonus of allowing you to write your own data access procedures for accessing common profile data.

Answer 4

If you're going to use the profile provider, make sure to check out the "Optimize ASP.NET 2.0 Profile Provider" section of this article if you're running a high-traffic site: http://www.codeproject.com/KB/aspnet/10ASPNetPerformance.aspx