.NET Aspire

Rainer Stropek | timecockpit

Rainer Stropek

Passionate software developer
IT-Entrepreneur, CoderDojo-Mentor, Teacher

software architects gmbh
rainer@software-architects.at
https://rainerstropek.me

What's The Problem?

Distributed Systems...

What is .NET Aspire?

• Tech stack to improve local development of distributed applications (aka cloud-native apps)
  • Does not replace production systems like K8s
  • Optional tooling for deployment to production (not focus of this talk)
• Focus on .NET
  • NPM-based components are already supported, too
  • Docker-based components
  • Open, can be extended to support other tech stacks and clouds
• Makes heavy use of Docker
  • Basic Docker knowledge is highly recommended

What is .NET Aspire?

• Orchestration
  • Run and connect multi-project applications and dependencies
• Components
  • Add commonly-used services like DBs, Redis, etc. (Docker-based)
• Tooling
  • Visual Studio (Code)
  • CLI

Status of .NET Aspire?

• Version 8 is production-ready, v9 is under development
  • Stay away from it 😜
• Issues when .NET 9 Preview is installed
• Good documentation with lots of samples
   
• Getting started:
  https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/aspire/fundamentals/setup-tooling

Demo

Getting Started

• Create Aspire starter app
  • Debug it
  • Dashboard
  • Structure
    • App Host: Orchestrator project (startup)
    • Service Defaults: Shared configurations
    • Components: API, Frontend
• Create a new, empty Aspire app
  • Project templates

https://github.com/rstropek/Samples/blob/master/Aspire/AspireDemo/

Add Web API ("WebApi")

• Enlist in Aspire during project creation
  • Project reference to service defaults
• Add two endpoints (ping, customers)
• Adjust launch settings

Add Backend API ("MultiplierApi")

• Enlist in Aspire during project creation
  • Project reference to service defaults
• Add endpoint
• Adjust launch settings
• Add new API to orchestrator project
  • For demo: Two instances

Add SQL Server

• Dependency for Web API project
• Add SQL to code
  • Add client to DI
  • Add DB endpoint
• Adjust launch settings
• Show environment variables with connection string
• Call backend service with DB response

Add Frontend

• Add proxy configuration
  • proxy.conf.js
  • angular.json
• Provide HTTP client
• Add component with call to DB endpoint
  
   
• Generate manifest
  dotnet run --publisher manifest --output-path ../aspire-manifest.json