.NET 8 Core Web Application Deployment Guide

This guide will walk you through installing the .NET 8 runtime, setting up Nginx, configuring your application as a systemd service, and setting up SSL on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS.

Step 1: Install the .NET 8 Runtime

1. Add Microsoft’s package repository:

   wget https://packages.microsoft.com/config/ubuntu/24.04/packages-microsoft-prod.deb -O packages-microsoft-prod.deb
   sudo dpkg -i packages-microsoft-prod.deb
   sudo apt update

2. Install the .NET 8 runtime (ASP.NET Core runtime):

   sudo apt install -y aspnetcore-runtime-8.0

3. Verify the installation:

   dotnet --info

Step 2: Publish and Deploy Your .NET Core Application

1. Publish your .NET application:

   dotnet publish --configuration Release --output /path/to/publish/folder

2. Transfer the published files to your server:

   Use SCP or FileZilla to transfer your published files to the server. Place them in /var/www/appweb.

   scp -r /path/to/publish/folder username@your-server:/var/www/appweb

Step 3: Configure Nginx

1. Install Nginx:

   sudo apt install -y nginx

2. Create an Nginx configuration file for your app:

   sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/appweb

3. Add the following Nginx configuration:

   server {
       listen 80 default_server;
       server_name test.coolnailz.com;
   
       location / {
           proxy_pass http://localhost:5000;  # Ensure your app is running on port 5000
           proxy_http_version 1.1;
           proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
           proxy_set_header Connection keep-alive;
           proxy_set_header Host $host;
           proxy_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;
           proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
           proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
           proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
       }
   }

4. Enable the Nginx site:

   sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/appweb /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

5. Disable the default Nginx site (optional):

   sudo rm /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default

6. Test the Nginx configuration:

   sudo nginx -t

7. Reload Nginx:

   sudo systemctl reload nginx

Step 4: Set Up a systemd Service for the .NET Application

1. Create a systemd service file:

   sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/appweb.service

2. Add the following content:

   [Unit]
   Description=.NET 8 AppWeb Application
   
   [Service]
   WorkingDirectory=/var/www/appweb
   ExecStart=/usr/bin/dotnet /var/www/appweb/AppWeb.dll
   Restart=always
   RestartSec=10
   KillSignal=SIGINT
   SyslogIdentifier=dotnet-appweb
   User=www-data
   Environment=ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT=Production
   
   [Install]
   WantedBy=multi-user.target

3. Enable and start the systemd service:

   sudo systemctl enable appweb.service
   sudo systemctl start appweb.service

4. Check the status of the service:

   sudo systemctl status appweb.service

Step 5: Test the Application

1. Access via IP: Open a browser and go to http://your_server_ip

2. Access via Domain: Open a browser and go to http://test.coolnailz.com

Step 6: Configure HTTPS (Optional but Recommended)

1. Install Certbot:

   sudo apt install -y certbot python3-certbot-nginx

2. Obtain an SSL certificate for your domain:

   sudo certbot --nginx -d test.coolnailz.com

3. Verify SSL auto-renewal:

   sudo certbot renew --dry-run

Step 7: Verify Everything is Working

1. Check Nginx logs:

   sudo tail -f /var/log/nginx/error.log

2. Check .NET application logs (systemd):

   sudo journalctl -fu appweb.service

Conclusion

This guide provides all the steps to deploy a .NET 8 Core web application on Ubuntu 24.04, configure Nginx, create a systemd service for automatic startup, and optionally enable HTTPS. Follow these steps to ensure your application is deployed securely and is always running.