enable-dynamic-configuration-dotnet-background-service.md

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Tutorial: Use dynamic configuration in a .NET background service	Azure App Configuration	In this tutorial, you learn how to dynamically update the configuration data for .NET background services.	azure-app-configuration	zhiyuanliang-ms	zhenlan	azure-app-configuration	csharp	devx-track-csharp, devx-track-dotnet	tutorial	11/12/2024	zhiyuanliang

Tutorial: Use dynamic configuration in a .NET background service

Data from App Configuration can be loaded as App Settings in a .NET application. For more information, see the quickstart. However, as is designed by the .NET, the App Settings can only refresh upon application restart. The App Configuration .NET provider is a .NET Standard library. It supports caching and refreshing configuration dynamically without application restart. This tutorial shows how you can implement dynamic configuration updates in a .NET background service.

In this tutorial, you learn how to:

[!div class="checklist"]

• Set up your .NET background service to update its configuration in response to changes in an App Configuration store.
• Consume the latest configuration in your background service.

Prerequisites

• An Azure account with an active subscription. Create one for free.
• An App Configuration store. Create a store.
• .NET SDK 6.0 or later - also available in the Azure Cloud Shell.

Add a key-value

Add the following key-value to the App Configuration store and leave Label and Content Type with their default values. For more information about how to add key-values to a store using the Azure portal or the CLI, go to Create a key-value.

Key	Value
TestApp:Settings:Message	Data from Azure App Configuration

Create a .NET background service

You use the .NET command-line interface (CLI) to create a new .NET app project. The advantage of using the .NET CLI over Visual Studio is that it's available across the Windows, macOS, and Linux platforms. Alternatively, use the preinstalled tools available in the Azure Cloud Shell.

1. Create a new folder for your project.

2. In the new folder, run the following command to create a new .NET background service project:

   dotnet new worker
   

Reload data from App Configuration

1. Add references to the Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.AzureAppConfiguration NuGet package by running the following command:

   dotnet add package Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.AzureAppConfiguration
   

2. Run the following command to restore packages for your project:

   dotnet restore
   

3. Open Program.cs and add the following statements:

   using Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration;
   using Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.AzureAppConfiguration;

4. Connect to App Configuration using Microsoft Entra ID (recommended), or a connection string.

   Microsoft Entra ID (recommended)

   You use the DefaultAzureCredential to authenticate to your App Configuration store. Follow the instructions to assign your credential the App Configuration Data Reader role. Be sure to allow sufficient time for the permission to propagate before running your application.

   // Existing code in Program.cs
   // ... ...
   
   var builder = Host.CreateApplicationBuilder(args);
   
   builder.Configuration.AddAzureAppConfiguration(options =>
   {
       string endpoint = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("Endpoint"); 
       options.Connect(new Uri(endpoint), new DefaultAzureCredential());
           // Load all keys that start with `TestApp:` and have no label.
           .Select("TestApp:*")
           // Reload configuration if any selected key-values have changed.
           .ConfigureRefresh(refreshOptions =>
           {
               refreshOptions.RegisterAll();
           });
   
       // Register the refresher so that the Worker service can consume it through DI
       builder.Services.AddSingleton(options.GetRefresher());
   });
   
   // The rest of existing code in Program.cs
   // ... ...

   Connection string

   // Existing code in Program.cs
   // ... ...
   
   var builder = Host.CreateApplicationBuilder(args);
   
   builder.Configuration.AddAzureAppConfiguration(options =>
   {
       options.Connect(Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("ConnectionString"))
           // Load all keys that start with `TestApp:` and have no label.
           .Select("TestApp:*")
           // Reload configuration if any selected key-values have changed.
           .ConfigureRefresh(refreshOptions =>
           {
               refreshOptions.RegisterAll();
           });
   
       // Register the refresher so that the Worker service can consume it through DI
       builder.Services.AddSingleton(options.GetRefresher());
   });
   
   // The rest of existing code in Program.cs
   // ... ...

   ---

   Inside the ConfigureRefresh method, you call the RegisterAll method to instruct the App Configuration provider to reload the entire configuration whenever it detects a change in any of the selected key-values (those starting with TestApp: and having no label). For more information about monitoring configuration changes, see Best practices for configuration refresh.

   [!TIP] You can add a call to the refreshOptions.SetRefreshInterval method to specify the minimum time between configuration refreshes. In this example, you use the default value of 30 seconds. Adjust to a higher value if you need to reduce the number of requests made to your App Configuration store.

5. Open Worker.cs. Inject IConfiguration and IConfigurationRefresher to the Worker service and log the configuration data from App Configuration.

   public class Worker : BackgroundService
   {
       private readonly ILogger<Worker> _logger;
       private readonly IConfiguration _configuration;
       private readonly IConfigurationRefresher _refresher;
   
       public Worker(ILogger<Worker> logger, IConfiguration configuration, IConfigurationRefresher refresher)
       {
           _logger = logger ?? throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(logger));
           _configuration = configuration ?? throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(configuration));
           _refresher = refresher ?? throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(refresher));
       }
   
       protected override async Task ExecuteAsync(CancellationToken stoppingToken)
       {
           while (!stoppingToken.IsCancellationRequested)
           {
               // Intentionally not await TryRefreshAsync to avoid blocking the execution.
               _refresher.TryRefreshAsync(stoppingToken);
   
               if (_logger.IsEnabled(LogLevel.Information))
               {
                   _logger.LogInformation(_configuration["TestApp:Settings:Message"] ?? "No data.");
               }
   
               await Task.Delay(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(30), stoppingToken);
           }
       }
   }

   Calling the ConfigureRefresh method alone won't cause the configuration to refresh automatically. You call the TryRefreshAsync method from the interface IConfigurationRefresher to trigger a refresh. This design is to avoid requests sent to App Configuration even when your application is idle. You can include the TryRefreshAsync call where you consider your application active. For example, it can be when you process an incoming message, an order, or an iteration of a complex task. It can also be in a timer if your application is active all the time. In this example, you call TryRefreshAsync every time the background service is executed. Note that, even if the call TryRefreshAsync fails for any reason, your application will continue to use the cached configuration. Another attempt will be made when the configured refresh interval has passed and the TryRefreshAsync call is triggered by your application activity again. Calling TryRefreshAsync is a no-op before the configured refresh interval elapses, so its performance impact is minimal, even if it's called frequently.

Build and run the app locally

1. Set an environment variable.

   Microsoft Entra ID (recommended)

   Set the environment variable named Endpoint to the endpoint of your App Configuration store found under the Overview of your store in the Azure portal.

   If you use the Windows command prompt, run the following command and restart the command prompt to allow the change to take effect:

   setx Endpoint "<endpoint-of-your-app-configuration-store>"

   If you use PowerShell, run the following command:

   $Env:Endpoint = "<endpoint-of-your-app-configuration-store>"

   If you use macOS or Linux, run the following command:

   export Endpoint='<endpoint-of-your-app-configuration-store>'

   Connection string

   Set the environment variable named ConnectionString to the read-only connection string of your App Configuration store found under Access keys of your store in the Azure portal.

   If you use the Windows command prompt, run the following command and restart the command prompt to allow the change to take effect:

   setx ConnectionString "<connection-string-of-your-app-configuration-store>"

   If you use PowerShell, run the following command:

   $Env:ConnectionString = "<connection-string-of-your-app-configuration-store>"

   If you use macOS or Linux, run the following command:

   export ConnectionString='<connection-string-of-your-app-configuration-store>'

   ---

2. Run the following command to build the app.

   dotnet build
   

3. After the build successfully completes, run the following command to run the app locally.

   dotnet run
   

4. You should see the following outputs in the console.

   

5. In the Azure portal, navigate to the Configuration explorer of your App Configuration store, and update the value of the following key.

   Key	Value
   TestApp:Settings:Message	Data from Azure App Configuration - Updated

6. Wait a few moments for the refresh interval time window to pass. You will see the console outputs changed.

   

Clean up resources

[!INCLUDE azure-app-configuration-cleanup]

Next steps

In this tutorial, you enabled your .NET background service to dynamically refresh configuration settings from App Configuration. To learn how to enable dynamic configuration in an ASP.NET Web Application, continue to the next tutorial:

[!div class="nextstepaction"] Enable dynamic configuration in ASP.NET Web Applications

To learn how to use an Azure managed identity to streamline the access to App Configuration, continue to the next tutorial:

[!div class="nextstepaction"] Managed identity integration