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.NET Aspire 9.0 is now generally available, following the earlier release of version 9.0 Release Candidate 1 (RC1). This release brings several features aimed at improving cloud-native application development on both AWS and Azure. It supports .NET 8 (LTS) and .NET 9 (STS).
A key update in Aspire 9.0 is the integration of AWS CDK, enabling developers to define and manage AWS resources such as DynamoDB tables, S3 buckets, and Cognito user pools directly within their Aspire projects. This integration simplifies the process of provisioning cloud resources by embedding infrastructure as code into the same environment used for developing the application itself. These resources are automatically deployed to an AWS account, and the references are included seamlessly within the application.
Azure integration has been upgraded in Aspire 9.0. It now offers preview support for Azure Functions, making it easier for developers to build serverless applications. Additionally, there are more configuration options for Azure Container Apps, giving developers better control over their cloud resources. Aspire 9.0 also introduces Microsoft Entra ID for authentication in Azure PostgreSQL and Azure Redis, boosting security and simplifying identity management.
In addition to cloud integrations, Aspire 9.0 introduces a self-contained SDK that eliminates the need for additional .NET workloads during project setup. This change addresses the issues faced by developers in previous versions, where managing different .NET versions could lead to conflicts or versioning problems.
Aspire Dashboard also receives several improvements in this release. It is now fully mobile-responsive, allowing users to manage their resources on various devices. Features like starting, stopping, and restarting individual resources are now available, giving developers finer control over their applications without restarting the entire environment. The dashboard provides better insights into the health of resources, including improved health check functionality that helps monitor application stability.
Furthermore, telemetry and monitoring have been enhanced with expanded filtering options and multi-instance tracking, enabling better debugging in complex application environments. The new support for OpenTelemetry Protocol also allows developers to collect both client-side and server-side telemetry data for more comprehensive performance monitoring.
Lastly, resource orchestration has been improved with new commands like WaitFor and WaitForCompletion, which help manage resource dependencies by ensuring that services are fully initialized before dependent services are started. This is useful for applications with intricate dependencies, ensuring smoother deployments and more reliable application performance.
Community feedback highlights how much Aspire’s development experience has been appreciated. One Reddit user noted:
It is super convenient, and I am a big fan of Aspire and how far it has come in such a short time.
Full release details and upgrade instructions are available in the .NET Aspire documentation.