Hi Guys,
We found that when we use ruby script/server start, the fragment_cache_store always seems to default to :file_store. (because tmp/cache dir gets created automatically lib/commands/server.rb)
If however we use mongrel_start then of course the tmp/cache folder doesn't get created and the fragment_cache_store defaults folder exists, it defaults to :file_store.
It seems this problem has been fixed in Rails 2.1. In Rails 2.1 it would never default to file_store unless explicitly put in configuration.
The lesson learnt is to explicitly put the ActionController::Base.cache_store = :file_store, "/tmp/cache" (for Rails2.1) and ActionController::Base.fragment_cache_store = :file_store, "/tmp/cache" in your environment file. Additionally, check in your tmp/cache folder in your source control folder and dont rely on the start up command to create those folders for you.
I wish we knew about this before. Anyway, since I don't have an active blog, putting this here might someone else later.
Cheers, Aditya