A customer's photo gallery site uses query parameters to filter photo search results. The site experiences high AEM Publish server load when users filter photos on the site. The customer would like to identify the cause of this issue. What should the Architect investigate first?

The high server load is characteristic of cache misses at the AEM Dispatcher. When users apply filters, unique query parameters are added to the URL (e.g., ?category=landscapes). If the Dispatcher is not configured to ignore these parameters for caching purposes, it treats each unique URL as a new page that must be fetched from the Publish instance, bypassing the cache. Investigating the ignoreUrlParams setting in the dispatcher.any file is the first logical step to determine if caching is being defeated by these filter parameters.

B. A misconfigured load balancer would distribute the high load, not cause it. The root issue is the high load itself, which is due to cache misses.
C. Cache-Control headers manage browser-side caching and cache duration, but the primary issue here is the Dispatcher's inability to serve cached content due to URL variations.
D. While the volume of assets contributes to load, the problem is specifically triggered by filtering, pointing to a caching issue related to the filter's query parameters.

1. Adobe Experience Manager as a Cloud Service Documentation. (n.d.). Configuring the AEM Dispatcher. Adobe. Retrieved from https://experienceleague.adobe.com/docs/experience-manager-dispatcher/using/configuring/dispatcher-configuration.html. (See section "Configuring the Dispatcher Cache (/cache)" and the subsection on /ignoreUrlParams, which states it "specifies which URL parameters should be ignored when determining whether a page is cached".)

2. Adobe Experience Manager 6.5 Documentation. (n.d.). Dispatcher Top Issues FAQ. Adobe. Retrieved from https://experienceleague.adobe.com/docs/experience-manager-65/deploying/dispatcher/dispatcher-faq.html. (This guide frequently points to URL parameters as a cause for caching issues.)