Referencing AppFabric Cache (Velocity) client assemblies on 64-bit operating systems

Scott Hanselman has written a great tutorial on installing and configuring AppFabric Cache (formerly known as “Velocity”). Just follow it, and you’ll have the Cache up and running in no time. There is, however, one issue you’ll have to deal with, when trying to create your own application on a 64-bit operating system. The two assemblies, needed to be references are not accessible from the Visual Studio 2010 “Add Reference” dialog.

Well, if you’ve installed the AppFabric, don’t worry, the assemblies are there. They are indeed in the %windir%\System32\AppFabric folder:

However, from the VS 2010’s “Add Reference”, you won’t see the AppFabric folder:

The thing is, %windir%\System32 is reserved for 64-bit applications. When 32-bit application, such as Visual Studio 2010 is trying to access the directory, is is actually redirected to %windir%\SysWOW64. This is why you’re not seeing the AppFabric folder.

But don’t worry, getting access the real %windir%\System32 directory is simple. Just type “c:\windows\sysnative” in the “Select the file to reference” dialog, and here it is:

The above is true not just for referencing AppFabric Cache client assemblies, but for referencing any assembly in system32 directory. Just remember: Visual Studio 2010 is a 32-bit application, so it runs in WOW mode.