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.Net Book

Workstation GC vs Server GC

Context: .NET offers two GC modes optimized for different application types. Workstation GC is designed for client applications (WPF, WinForms, Console) where UI responsiveness is critical; it uses a single GC thread and prefers lower latency. Server GC is for server applications (ASP.NET, services) that need high throughput and scalability; it creates one GC thread per CPU core and collects heaps in parallel.

ModeUsageCharacteristics
Workstation GCClient appsSingle GC thread, optimized for low latency
Server GCServer appsMultiple GC threads, optimized for throughput

Usage Example

Section titled “Usage Example”
<!-- Configuration in .csproj or runtimeconfig.json -->
<PropertyGroup>
  <ServerGarbageCollection>true</ServerGarbageCollection>
</PropertyGroup>
// Check current mode
using System;
using System.Runtime;


Console.WriteLine($"GC mode: {(GCSettings.IsServerGC ? "Server" : "Workstation")}");

Output console

Section titled “Output console”
Terminal window
dotnet run
GC mode: Workstation

Important notes

Section titled “Important notes”
  • Workstation is the default for client applications.
  • Server is recommended for backend applications with many threads and high memory allocation.

Real‑world usage example

Section titled “Real‑world usage example”

ASP.NET Core web API – By default, it runs on Server GC to handle many concurrent requests efficiently. You can override this in the project file.
See .NET docs on GC modes.

Section titled “Related sections”