FeatBit Aspire Project

This is a comprehensive .NET Aspire application that demonstrates a microservices architecture with Azure cloud resources and Docker containers.

Architecture

The project includes the following components:

🏗️ Infrastructure

• Azure PostgreSQL Flexible Server - Primary database
• Azure Cache for Redis - Caching and session storage

🚀 Services

• Feature Flag Service (.NET 8) - REST API for managing feature flags
• User Service (.NET 8) - REST API for user management
• Angular UI (Docker) - Frontend application using featbit/featbit-ui:latest
• Python Analytics Service (Docker) - FastAPI service for analytics and data processing

Prerequisites

• .NET 10 SDK or later
• Docker Desktop (running)
• Azure subscription (for production deployment)
• Visual Studio 2022 or VS Code with C# Dev Kit

🚀 Getting Started

Local Development

1. Clone the repository

   git clone <repository-url>
   cd featbit-aspire

2. Restore dependencies

   dotnet restore

3. Run the Aspire AppHost

   dotnet run --project FeatBit.AppHost

4. Access the services:

   • Aspire Dashboard: https://localhost:17106
   • FeatBit Angular UI: http://localhost:8081
   • FeatBit Web API: http://localhost:5000
   • FeatBit Evaluation Server: http://localhost:5100
   • FeatBit Data Analytics: http://localhost:8200

📊 Service Endpoints

FeatBit Web API Server (Port 5000)

• Main API server for feature flag management
• Handles user authentication and authorization
• Manages feature flag configurations and targeting rules
• Provides administrative interfaces

FeatBit Evaluation Server (Port 5100)

• High-performance feature flag evaluation engine
• Handles real-time feature flag evaluations
• Optimized for low-latency responses
• Used by client SDKs for flag evaluations

FeatBit Angular UI (Port 8081)

• Complete web-based management interface
• Feature flag dashboard and configuration
• User management and analytics
• Access via browser at http://localhost:8081

FeatBit Data Analytics Server (Port 8200)

• Analytics and reporting engine
• Data processing and insights
• Performance metrics and usage statistics

🐳 Docker Services

FeatBit Web API Server

• Image: featbitdocker/featbit-api-server:5.1.4
• Port: 5000
• Features: ASP.NET Core API with PostgreSQL and Redis integration

FeatBit Evaluation Server

• Image: featbitdocker/featbit-evaluation-server:5.1.4
• Port: 5100
• Features: High-performance evaluation engine

FeatBit Angular UI

• Image: featbitdocker/featbit-ui:5.1.4
• Port: 8081
• Features: Complete management interface

FeatBit Data Analytics Server

• Image: featbitdocker/featbit-data-analytics-server:latest
• Port: 8200
• Features: Python-based analytics and reporting

🔧 Development

Adding New Services

To add a new .NET service:

1. Create the service project
2. Add project reference in FeatBit.AppHost.csproj
3. Register in AppHost.cs with AddProject<>()

To add a new Docker service:

1. Use AddContainer() for existing images
2. Use AddDockerfile() for custom builds

Environment Configuration

Services automatically receive connection strings for:

• PostgreSQL via postgres.Resource.ConnectionStringExpression
• Redis via redis.Resource.ConnectionStringExpression

🚀 Deployment to Azure

Prerequisites for Azure Deployment

• Azure subscription with appropriate permissions
• Azure Developer CLI (azd) installed
• Existing PostgreSQL and Redis instances (connection strings configured in appsettings.json)

Initial Deployment

1. Install Azure Developer CLI

   # Windows (using winget)
   winget install microsoft.azd
   
   # Or download from https://aka.ms/azd-install

2. Login to Azure

   azd auth login

3. Initialize the project

   azd init --from-code

   When prompted:

   • Select .NET (Aspire) as the detected service
   • Enter a unique environment name (e.g., featbit-aspire-env)
   • Confirm to continue

4. Deploy to Azure

   azd up

   During deployment, you'll be prompted to:

   • Select your Azure subscription
   • Choose a region (e.g., West US 2)
   • Enter PostgreSQL connection string
   • Enter Redis connection string

   The deployment will:

   • Create a resource group (e.g., rg-featbit-aspire-env)
   • Create an Azure Container Apps Environment
   • Create an Azure Container Registry
   • Create Application Insights for monitoring
   • Deploy all 4 container services with 3 replicas each for high availability
   • Configure HTTPS endpoints automatically

5. Access your deployed application

   After successful deployment, you'll see:

   - FeatBit UI: https://featbit-ui.<environment>.azurecontainerapps.io/
   - FeatBit API: https://featbit-api.<environment>.azurecontainerapps.io/
   - Evaluation Server: https://featbit-evaluation-server.<environment>.azurecontainerapps.io/
   - Aspire Dashboard: https://aspire-dashboard.ext.<environment>.azurecontainerapps.io
   

Updating Your Deployment

After making code changes, update your Azure deployment:

1. Quick update (code changes only)

   azd deploy

   This redeploys your services without reprovisioning infrastructure.

2. Full update (code + infrastructure changes)

   azd up

   Use this when you've modified AppHost.cs configuration.

3. Update specific service

   azd deploy <service-name>
   # Example: azd deploy featbit-api

Managing Your Azure Resources

View deployment status:

azd show

View environment details:

azd env get-values

Monitor logs:

azd monitor

Delete all Azure resources:

azd down --force --purge

Or using Azure CLI:

az group delete --name rg-featbit-aspire-env --yes --no-wait

Architecture in Azure

The deployment creates:

• Azure Container Apps Environment - Managed Kubernetes environment
• Azure Container Registry - Private container image storage
• Application Insights - Monitoring and telemetry
• Log Analytics Workspaces - Centralized logging
• 4 Container Apps (each with 3 replicas for high availability):
  • featbit-api - Web API Server (external HTTPS)
  • featbit-evaluation-server - Evaluation Server (external HTTPS)
  • featbit-ui - Angular UI (external HTTPS)
  • featbit-da-server - Data Analytics (internal only)

Production Configuration

The application automatically detects publish mode and:

• Uses explicit ports (5000, 5100, 8081) for local development
• Uses automatic port assignment (port 80) for Azure deployment
• Configures HTTPS endpoints for external services in Azure
• Sets up internal-only access for the Data Analytics service
• Configures environment variables with connection strings
• Enables Application Insights for monitoring
• Scales services with 3-10 replicas for high availability

Cost Optimization

To reduce costs in development:

• Modify replica counts in AppHost.cs:

  containerApp.Template.Scale.MinReplicas = 1;
  containerApp.Template.Scale.MaxReplicas = 3;

• Delete resources when not in use: azd down
• Use Azure Cost Management to monitor spending

🔍 Monitoring

The Aspire Dashboard provides:

• Service health and status
• Logs from all services
• Metrics and telemetry
• Distributed tracing
• Resource usage

🛠️ Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. Docker not running

   • Ensure Docker Desktop is started
   • Check container status in Aspire Dashboard

2. Port conflicts

   • Modify port assignments in AppHost.cs
   • Use WithHttpEndpoint(hostPort: <new-port>)

3. Azure connection issues

   • Verify Azure CLI authentication: az login
   • Check Azure subscription permissions

Logs

Access logs through:

• Aspire Dashboard - Real-time logs for all services
• Docker Desktop - Container logs
• Azure Portal - Production logs (when deployed)

📁 Project Structure

featbit-aspire/
├── FeatBit.AppHost/           # Aspire orchestration
├── FeatBit.ServiceDefaults/   # Shared service configuration
├── FeatBit.FeatureFlagService/ # Feature flag REST API
├── FeatBit.UserService/       # User management REST API
├── python-app/                # Python analytics service
│   ├── main.py
│   ├── requirements.txt
│   └── Dockerfile
└── README.md

🤝 Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make changes and test locally
4. Submit a pull request

📝 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.