Problem

First search, after system idle for a while,  takes a long long time to return results.  This happens not only after IISReset (of course IISRESET does cause this issue, however, that’s not my case). Subsequent searches are much much faster. This happens after server idle for a certain period (which i do not know – Hopefully any expert can enlighten me on this =). Windows tried to retrieve a current list of root certificates to verify the validity of the certificate with updated information.Apparently, based on this KB, the problem arises due to verification on the Root Certificate of SharePoint (SPCertificateValidator.Validate).

Resolution

You refer to the KB for the steps. I should not duplicate the content as that’s not the point here. What my point is to compare the two approaches.

My recommendation is to follow Step 1 which is to manually add the SharePoint Root Certificate into your SharePoint Trust Root Certification store.

Why? Adding the root certification in anyway will help the performance of your SharePoint application. When it comes to intranet application, the web server does not have access to the Internet (don’t be surprise!). What you will get is just a connection failure and do mind that there is Times Out request which will halt and slow down your application.

Why not Step 2 – Disable the automatic update of root certificates on the SharePoint Servers? This step requires you to edit the local policy setting and you may need to submit a request on such modification (for audit purposes). If your SharePoint server is joint to an existing Domain, the policy is pushed down by AD and that adds more difficulty in requesting for a change in existing policy setting. My Sincere two cents from vendor point of view.