diff --git a/assist/utils/httpHandlers.js b/assist/utils/httpHandlers.js
index c6514e2dc..500e4fdb5 100644
--- a/assist/utils/httpHandlers.js
+++ b/assist/utils/httpHandlers.js
@@ -27,9 +27,14 @@ const respond = function (req, res, data) {
         res.setHeader('Content-Type', 'application/json');
         res.end(JSON.stringify(result));
     } else {
-        res.cork(() => {
-            res.writeStatus('200 OK').writeHeader('Content-Type', 'application/json').end(JSON.stringify(result));
-        });
+        if (!res.aborted) {
+            res.cork(() => {
+                res.writeStatus('200 OK').writeHeader('Content-Type', 'application/json').end(JSON.stringify(result));
+            });
+        } else {
+            logger.debug("response aborted");
+            return;
+        }
     }
     const duration = performance.now() - req.startTs;
     IncreaseTotalRequests();
diff --git a/ee/assist/server.js b/ee/assist/server.js
index 123501634..2a6ec5bee 100644
--- a/ee/assist/server.js
+++ b/ee/assist/server.js
@@ -83,9 +83,11 @@ if (process.env.uws !== "true") {
     const uWrapper = function (fn) {
         return (res, req) => {
             res.id = 1;
+            res.aborted = false;
             req.startTs = performance.now(); // track request's start timestamp
             req.method = req.getMethod();
             res.onAborted(() => {
+                res.aborted = true;
                 onAbortedOrFinishedResponse(res);
             });
             return fn(req, res);
diff --git a/ee/assist/utils/wsServer.js b/ee/assist/utils/wsServer.js
index 97fa6c268..e774eb8bf 100644
--- a/ee/assist/utils/wsServer.js
+++ b/ee/assist/utils/wsServer.js
@@ -3,20 +3,50 @@ const {getCompressionConfig} = require("./helper");
 const {logger} = require('./logger');
 
 let io;
+const getServer = function () {return io;}
 
-const getServer = function () {
-    return io;
+const useRedis = process.env.redis === "true";
+let inMemorySocketsCache = [];
+let lastCacheUpdateTime = 0;
+const CACHE_REFRESH_INTERVAL = parseInt(process.env.cacheRefreshInterval) || 5000;
+
+const doFetchAllSockets = async function () {
+    if (useRedis) {
+        const now = Date.now();
+        logger.info(`Using in-memory cache (age: ${now - lastCacheUpdateTime}ms)`);
+        return inMemorySocketsCache;
+    } else {
+        try {
+            return await io.fetchSockets();
+        } catch (error) {
+            logger.error('Error fetching sockets:', error);
+            return [];
+        }
+    }
 }
 
-let redisClient;
-const useRedis = process.env.redis === "true";
+// Background refresher that runs independently of requests
+let cacheRefresher = null;
+function startCacheRefresher() {
+    if (cacheRefresher) clearInterval(cacheRefresher);
 
-if (useRedis) {
-    const {createClient} = require("redis");
-    const REDIS_URL = (process.env.REDIS_URL || "localhost:6379").replace(/((^\w+:|^)\/\/|^)/, 'redis://');
-    redisClient = createClient({url: REDIS_URL});
-    redisClient.on("error", (error) => logger.error(`Redis error : ${error}`));
-    void redisClient.connect();
+    cacheRefresher = setInterval(async () => {
+        const now = Date.now();
+        // Only refresh if cache is stale
+        if (now - lastCacheUpdateTime >= CACHE_REFRESH_INTERVAL) {
+            logger.debug('Background refresh triggered');
+            try {
+                const startTime = performance.now();
+                const result = await io.fetchSockets();
+                inMemorySocketsCache = result;
+                lastCacheUpdateTime = now;
+                const duration = performance.now() - startTime;
+                logger.info(`Background refresh complete: ${duration}ms, ${result.length} sockets`);
+            } catch (error) {
+                logger.error(`Background refresh error: ${error}`);
+            }
+        }
+    }, CACHE_REFRESH_INTERVAL / 2);
 }
 
 const processSocketsList = function (sockets) {
@@ -28,24 +58,6 @@ const processSocketsList = function (sockets) {
     return res
 }
 
-const doFetchAllSockets = async function () {
-    if (useRedis) {
-        try {
-            let cachedResult = await redisClient.get('fetchSocketsResult');
-            if (cachedResult) {
-                return JSON.parse(cachedResult);
-            }
-            let result = await io.fetchSockets();
-            let cachedString = JSON.stringify(processSocketsList(result));
-            await redisClient.set('fetchSocketsResult', cachedString, {EX: 5});
-            return result;
-        } catch (error) {
-            logger.error('Error setting value with expiration:', error);
-        }
-    }
-    return await io.fetchSockets();
-}
-
 const fetchSockets = async function (roomID) {
     if (!io) {
         return [];
@@ -84,6 +96,7 @@ const createSocketIOServer = function (server, prefix) {
         });
         io.attachApp(server);
     }
+    startCacheRefresher();
     return io;
 }