I have been working with a microservices based application since more than few years now. Every now and then, I get into discussions where we discuss what are some useful resources to learn about Microservices architecture. I have decided to write a series of articles which would provide basic idea about Microservices design pattern. This article is just to summarize the steps which can be followed in order to gain insights into Microservices design pattern.
If you’re a C# and .NET developer looking to dive into microservices, incorporating Azure into your learning path can provide cloud-native advantages. This guide presents a structured plan to help you learn and implement microservices using C#, .NET, and Azure.
Phase 1: Understanding the Basics (Week 1-2)
1. Learn C# and .NET Core (If Not Proficient)
Before jumping into microservices, ensure you have a solid understanding of C# and .NET Core. If you have been working with .NET for some time, you may already be of aware of these concepts and you can skip this step in that case.
- Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) concepts
- Dependency Injection (DI)
- Asynchronous programming (async/await)
- LINQ, Entity Framework Core
2. Understanding Microservices Architecture
These items are to ensure that you get familiar with the basic concepts of Microservices design pattern.
- What are microservices?
- Monolithic vs. Microservices architecture
- Advantages and challenges of microservices
- Principles of designing scalable microservices
3. Learn RESTful API Development with ASP.NET Core
This one is optional as well. If you have been working with .NET based web applications or APIs, you may be familiar with these concepts. I have covered most of these concepts in my previous articles. If you want you can also refer them.
- Building a REST API with ASP.NET Core Web API
- CRUD operations using Entity Framework Core
- Authentication & Authorization (JWT, IdentityServer4)
- API versioning and documentation with Swagger
Phase 2: Implementing Microservices with .NET (Week 3-6)
4. Designing and Developing Microservices
- Structuring microservices using Clean Architecture
- Implementing CQRS (Command Query Responsibility Segregation) pattern
- Using MediatR for command and query handling
5. Inter-Service Communication
- REST-based communication
- gRPC for high-performance microservices
- Event-driven architecture using message brokers (RabbitMQ, Azure Service Bus, Kafka)
6. API Gateway and Service Discovery
These points may not make any sense if you are not interested in
- Implementing API Gateway with Ocelot/YARP
- Service Discovery with Consul/Kubernetes
- Circuit Breaker pattern using Polly
7. Data Management in Microservices
- Database-per-microservice pattern
- Handling distributed transactions using Saga Pattern
- Implementing Event Sourcing & Outbox Pattern
Phase 3: Deploying Microservices on Azure (Week 7-10)
8. Containerization with Docker & Kubernetes
- Creating and managing Docker containers
- Building Docker images for microservices
- Basics of Kubernetes (K8s): Pods, Deployments, Services
9. Deploying Microservices on Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
- Setting up AKS
- Deploying microservices using Helm charts
- Configuring Ingress Controller for routing
10. Leveraging Azure Services for Microservices
- Azure API Management for securing microservices
- Azure Service Bus for event-driven communication
- Azure Cosmos DB & Azure SQL for database management
- Azure Key Vault for secrets management
11. Implementing CI/CD for Microservices
- Automating deployments using Azure DevOps/GitHub Actions
- Building and deploying Docker containers
- Infrastructure as Code (Terraform/Bicep)
Phase 4: Advanced Topics & Optimization (Week 11-14)
12. Observability & Monitoring
- Distributed tracing with OpenTelemetry, Application Insights
- Health checks and metrics using tools like Prometheus & Grafana
13. Security Best Practices
- Implementing OAuth 2.0 & OpenID Connect
- API Gateway authentication and authorization
- Secure microservice communication using HTTPS and mTLS
Phase 5: Hands-On Project (Ongoing)
This may be an ongoing activity that you can continue during your journey. You can create an eCommerce application which has below mentioned services.
- Product Service (CRUD operations, NoSQL database)
- Order Service (Order processing, SQL database)
- Payment Service (Integrating Stripe/PayPal)
- User Management Service (Identity and Access Management with Azure AD)
- API Gateway (Ocelot/YARP for routing and security)
- Event-Driven Communication (Azure Service Bus, RabbitMQ)
- Deployment on AKS with CI/CD
Resources for Learning
There are various resources available already in the market. If you like to read books, maybe you can look for books written by some well known authors. If you like video tutorials, you can go to YouTube, or PluralSight or Udemy and refer the courses / learning paths there.
I would certainly mention one source – the MSDN documentation – .NET Microservices Architecture Guide – which can be referred during this journey.
Conclusion
Mastering microservices using .NET and Azure requires structured learning, hands-on coding, and real-world projects. By following this plan, you should be able to know basic concepts and also gain some understanding in designing, building, deploying, and managing microservices efficiently.
Just a note from experience, the Microservices architecture comes with its own pros and cons. In my opinion, if you are working on real world applications from scratch, generally it may be wise idea to start with Modular Monolith.
Because in that case, if you feel the need of moving to Microservices architecture, it should be possible to separate the modules as separate services one by one. But if you think microservices is going to be overkill because of any reason, even then you should be able to continue with its current state. The crux here is – don’t be in hurry to build Microservices based application, without knowing what effect it would have on other areas (e.g. operation costs, training costs, etc.)
As a next step, you can start small application, build some small projects, and gradually move towards cloud-native microservices on Azure.
Are you ready to get started? 🚀 Let us know your progress and experiences in the comments!
