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Microservice Template Overview

The ConnectSoft Microservice Template is a comprehensive, production-ready foundation for building scalable, cloud-native microservices. It provides a complete solution structure following Clean Architecture, Domain-Driven Design (DDD), and modern cloud-native patterns, enabling teams to build maintainable, testable, and scalable microservices with minimal boilerplate.

Introduction

Purpose

The Microservice Template enables rapid development of production-grade microservices by providing:

  • Pre-configured Architecture: Clean Architecture with strict dependency rules enforced at build time
  • Comprehensive Patterns: DDD, CQRS, Event Sourcing, Repository Pattern, and more
  • Multiple Communication Protocols: REST API, gRPC, GraphQL, SignalR, CoreWCF support
  • Technology Flexibility: Support for multiple persistence technologies (NHibernate, MongoDB), messaging frameworks (MassTransit, NServiceBus), and actor models (Orleans, Dapr, Akka.NET)
  • Production-Ready Features: Observability, security, health checks, resiliency patterns built-in
  • AI Integration: Microsoft.Extensions.AI, Semantic Kernel, Model Context Protocol support
  • Automated Testing: Unit tests, integration tests, BDD tests, and architecture tests

When to Use This Template

Use the Microservice Template when:

  • Building new microservices from scratch
  • Creating services that need multiple communication protocols
  • Developing services requiring complex domain logic
  • Building services that need event-driven messaging
  • Creating services with multiple persistence options
  • Developing services that require comprehensive observability
  • Building services that need AI/ML integration
  • Creating services for cloud-native deployment (Kubernetes, Azure, AWS)

Key Features

Architecture

  • Clean Architecture: Strict layer separation with automated enforcement
  • Domain-Driven Design: Aggregates, entities, value objects, domain events
  • CQRS Pattern: Separate processors (commands) and retrievers (queries)
  • Event Sourcing: Optional event sourcing support
  • Architecture Tests: Automated validation of architectural rules

See Architecture for detailed architecture enforcement patterns.

Solution Structure

  • Modular Organization: Projects organized by architectural layers
  • Technology Isolation: Technology-specific implementations in separate projects
  • Dependency Management: Clear dependency flow with automated validation
  • Project Naming: Consistent naming conventions across all projects

See Solution Structure for complete project organization details.

Startup and Initialization

  • Startup Warmup: Configurable grace period and manual readiness control
  • Health Checks: Comprehensive health check system with multiple probes
  • Dependency Initialization: Support for migrations, cache warming, and service connectivity

See Startup and Warmup for startup patterns and mechanisms.

Communication

  • REST API: Full REST API support with OpenAPI/Swagger documentation
  • gRPC: High-performance gRPC services
  • GraphQL: GraphQL schema and resolvers
  • SignalR: Real-time communication
  • CoreWCF: SOAP/WCF services
  • Messaging: MassTransit and NServiceBus support

Persistence

  • NHibernate: Full NHibernate ORM support
  • MongoDB: MongoDB document database support
  • Repository Pattern: Abstracted data access
  • Specification Pattern: Complex query definitions
  • Database Migrations: FluentMigrator for SQL, MongoDB migrations

Observability

  • Logging: Structured logging with Serilog
  • Metrics: Prometheus metrics and OpenTelemetry
  • Distributed Tracing: End-to-end request tracing
  • Application Insights: Azure Application Insights integration
  • AI Observability: AI service monitoring and telemetry

Security

  • Authentication: Multiple authentication mechanisms
  • Authorization: Policy-based authorization
  • Secrets Management: Secure secret storage and retrieval
  • Data Redaction: Automatic PII and secret redaction
  • Zero Trust: Zero Trust Architecture principles

Testing

  • Unit Tests: Comprehensive unit testing infrastructure
  • Integration Tests: Integration testing patterns
  • BDD Tests: Behavior-Driven Development with SpecFlow
  • Architecture Tests: Automated architecture rule validation

Getting Started

  1. Install the Template: Follow the Getting Started guide
  2. Understand the Structure: Review the Solution Structure
  3. Learn the Architecture: Study the Architecture patterns
  4. Explore Features: Check out the Features documentation

Documentation Structure

The template includes comprehensive documentation covering:

Summary

The ConnectSoft Microservice Template provides:

  • ✅ Production-Ready Foundation: Complete solution structure with best practices
  • ✅ Architecture Enforcement: Automated validation of architectural rules
  • ✅ Technology Flexibility: Support for multiple technologies and frameworks
  • ✅ Comprehensive Features: Observability, security, testing, and more
  • ✅ Cloud-Native Ready: Kubernetes, Docker, and cloud platform support
  • ✅ AI Integration: Built-in AI/ML capabilities
  • ✅ Extensible: Easy to extend with new features and technologies

By using this template, teams can:

  • Start Faster: Pre-configured architecture and patterns
  • Maintain Quality: Automated architecture enforcement
  • Scale Efficiently: Cloud-native patterns and infrastructure
  • Build Reliably: Comprehensive testing and observability
  • Deploy Confidently: Production-ready configurations

The Microservice Template is the foundation for building robust, maintainable, and scalable microservices that follow industry best practices and ConnectSoft architectural principles.