Optimizing Performance in Cloud-Native Applications with .NET Core 8 and Azure

In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, optimizing performance in cloud-native applications is not just a luxury—it’s a necessity. As businesses scale, so do the demands on their systems, and any inefficiency in code, database queries, or cloud resource utilization can lead to higher costs and reduced user satisfaction. This article focuses on real-world strategies for optimizing performance in cloud-native applications built using .NET Core 8 and Azure, offering practical insights and examples to help you deliver fast, scalable, and cost-effective solutions. The Importance of Performance Optimization Cloud-native applications leverage distributed architectures, making performance optimization a multi-faceted challenge. Poorly performing applications can lead to: Higher operational costs due to inefficient resource utilization. User dissatisfaction caused by high latency or downtime. Scalability bottlenecks when handling increased traffic. By adopting best practices in .NET Core 8 and Azure, engineers can address these challenges effectively. 1. Optimize API Performance with .NET Core 8 Efficient Asynchronous Programming In cloud-native applications, API endpoints often handle multiple requests concurrently. Using async/await ensures that threads are not blocked while waiting for I/O operations like database queries or HTTP requests. Example: Optimized API Controller [ApiController] [Route("api/[controller]")] public class ProductsController : ControllerBase { private readonly IProductService _productService; public ProductsController(IProductService productService) { _productService = productService; } [HttpGet("{id}")] public async Task GetProductByIdAsync(int id) { var product = await _productService.GetProductByIdAsync(id); if (product == null) return NotFound(); return Ok(product); } } Caching Frequently Accessed Data Use Azure Cache for Redis to cache frequently accessed data and reduce database load. Example: Implementing Redis Caching public class ProductService : IProductService { private readonly IDistributedCache _cache; private readonly IProductRepository _repository; public ProductService(IDistributedCache cache, IProductRepository repository) { _cache = cache; _repository = repository; } public async Task GetProductByIdAsync(int id) { var cacheKey = $"Product_{id}"; var cachedProduct = await _cache.GetStringAsync(cacheKey); if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(cachedProduct)) return JsonConvert.DeserializeObject(cachedProduct); var product = await _repository.GetProductByIdAsync(id); if (product != null) { await _cache.SetStringAsync( cacheKey, JsonConvert.SerializeObject(product), new DistributedCacheEntryOptions { AbsoluteExpirationRelativeToNow = TimeSpan.FromMinutes(10) } ); } return product; } } 2. Optimize Database Interactions Use Efficient Querying Techniques Inefficient database queries can become a significant bottleneck. Use Entity Framework Core with proper query optimizations, like avoiding unnecessary joins and loading only the required data. Example: Using .AsNoTracking() for Read-Only Queries public async Task GetProductsAsync() { return await _dbContext.Products .AsNoTracking() // Improves performance for read-only operations .Where(p => p.IsActive) .ToListAsync(); } Database Indexing Ensure your database has proper indexing for frequently queried fields. For example, indexing a ProductId or IsActive field can significantly improve performance for queries that filter by these columns. Scaling Databases with Azure SQL Use Read Replicas for handling read-heavy workloads. Scale Azure SQL elastically based on demand using Auto-Scale. 3. Leverage Azure-Specific Optimizations Azure Functions for Background Processing Offload heavy, non-blocking tasks to Azure Functions to reduce the load on your API. Real-World Scenario: Sending Order Confirmation Emails Instead of processing emails synchronously in your API, send them via an Azure Function triggered by Azure Event Grid. Step 1: Publish Event to Event Grid public async Task NotifyOrderCreatedAsync(Order order) { var eventGridClient = new EventGridPublisherClient(new Uri(""), new AzureKeyCredential("")); var orderEvent = new EventGridEvent( "OrderCreated", "Order.Events.Created", "1.0", order ); await eventGridClient.SendEventAsync(orderEvent); } Step 2: Azure Function to Handle the Event [FunctionName("ProcessOrderCreated")] public async Task Run([EventGridTrigger] EventGridEvent eventGri

[ApiController]
[Route("api/[controller]")]
public class ProductsController : ControllerBase
{
    private readonly IProductService _productService;

    public ProductsController(IProductService productService)
    {
        _productService = productService;
    }

    [HttpGet("{id}")]
    public async Task<IActionResult> GetProductByIdAsync(int id)
    {
        var product = await _productService.GetProductByIdAsync(id);
        if (product == null) return NotFound();
        return Ok(product);
    }
}

public class ProductService : IProductService
{
    private readonly IDistributedCache _cache;
    private readonly IProductRepository _repository;

    public ProductService(IDistributedCache cache, IProductRepository repository)
    {
        _cache = cache;
        _repository = repository;
    }

    public async Task<Product> GetProductByIdAsync(int id)
    {
        var cacheKey = $"Product_{id}";
        var cachedProduct = await _cache.GetStringAsync(cacheKey);

        if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(cachedProduct))
            return JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<Product>(cachedProduct);

        var product = await _repository.GetProductByIdAsync(id);
        if (product != null)
        {
            await _cache.SetStringAsync(
                cacheKey,
                JsonConvert.SerializeObject(product),
                new DistributedCacheEntryOptions { AbsoluteExpirationRelativeToNow = TimeSpan.FromMinutes(10) }
            );
        }
        return product;
    }
}

public async Task<List<Product>> GetProductsAsync()
{
    return await _dbContext.Products
        .AsNoTracking() // Improves performance for read-only operations
        .Where(p => p.IsActive)
        .ToListAsync();
}

public async Task NotifyOrderCreatedAsync(Order order)
{
    var eventGridClient = new EventGridPublisherClient(new Uri(""), new AzureKeyCredential(""));
    var orderEvent = new EventGridEvent(
        "OrderCreated",
        "Order.Events.Created",
        "1.0",
        order
    );
    await eventGridClient.SendEventAsync(orderEvent);
}

[FunctionName("ProcessOrderCreated")]
public async Task Run([EventGridTrigger] EventGridEvent eventGridEvent)
{
    var order = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<Order>(eventGridEvent.Data.ToString());
    await _emailService.SendOrderConfirmationEmailAsync(order);
}

dotnet add package Microsoft.ApplicationInsights.AspNetCore

builder.Services.AddApplicationInsightsTelemetry();

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