What is the fasted method to pass messages between different processes in C#?

Question

I have a bunch of AddIns loaded by the Microsoft AddIn Framework all in separate processes.

Packets come in from the one side (also an AddIn) then get send to a controller (also an AddIn) that coordinates the process of the packet. The controller then sends the packet to multiple other AddIns one by one, depending on the content and the result received from the last AddIn.

My question is will the AddIn Framework's communication layer be the fasted method of doing this or will I get better performance from WCF with named pipes or net tcp, or something completely different?

Answer 1

As with any performance question: there is no substitute for your own testing.

If possible don't hard code the communications layer and test both to choose the default.

I would expect net-tcp to be quicker as named pipes have additional layers of abstraction over the underlying sockets, but this is a guesstimate. (On the other hand, named pipes have closer integration with Windows authentication.)