The safety and security of your data is obviously crucial, so when selecting a web hosting company, you should carefully consider its cybersecurity credentials. After all, a quick, efficient website that loses its users’ trust due to lax security measures won’t be very successful.

The significance of dependable and secure hosting may already be clear to you if you are the owner website. If not, you might want to keep reading because we’ll break down the key security features you should consider when selecting a hosting solution and reveal the top 5 best secure ASP.NET hosting companies in terms of security.

Let’s get started.

What to look for in a hosting provider in terms of security

Most ASP.NET Core hosting companies will advertise a variety of features designed to keep your website or application (and, of course, your data) secure, but it’s important to carefully review your hosting package before you sign up because many of these features might not come as standard — some might, for example, only be available on higher-priced plans.

To avoid being caught off guard, make sure the hosting plan you choose includes all the security precautions you need. Your hosting company should at the very least provide the following security features:

• SSL Certificate:An SSL certificate is a particular kind of digital certificate that is used to verify a website’s legitimacy and encrypt data sent between the website and a user’s computer. It makes sure that all information exchanged between the server and the user is secure and private.
• Firewall:A firewall is a security system created to stop unauthorized access to a computer or private network (also known as a web application firewall). It is intended to filter traffic between various networks and stop malicious traffic from entering the protected system. It may be hardware- or software-based.
• Bot Protection: Bot protection is a type of security that employs automated tools and algorithms to find, keep an eye on, and prevent malicious bots from entering a network or website. Additionally, it can be used to identify and stop harmful behaviors like spamming and data scraping.
• Login Security: A set of safeguards used to make sure that only authorized users can access an online system is known as login security. To ensure the security of user accounts, two-factor authentication is frequently used, along with strong password guidelines and other security measures.
• User Access Management:User access management (UAM) is a security procedure used to regulate and keep track of user access to system resources. In order to ensure that access control policies are being followed, it typically entails creating user accounts, assigning permissions and privileges, and monitoring user activity.
• End-to-End Encryption: End-to-end encryption is a type of communication where only the people who are supposed to read the data can do so. It is typically used to protect sensitive data by ensuring that only the intended recipients can access the data, such as financial information or medical records.
• Two-Factor Authentication: Users must supply two pieces of information as part of a security procedure called two-factor authentication (2FA) in order to access a system or service. Most frequently, a password and a code are sent to the user’s mobile device for these two pieces of information.

In spite of the fact that the number of security features a company needs may vary depending on a variety of factors, including the nature of the company, the sensitivity of its data, the make-up of its workforce, etc., cybersecurity best practice calls for having multiple layers of defense in place.

The five ASP.NET Core hosting companies listed below are the ones we believe provide your company with the best overall security.

1. ASPHostPortal

ASPHostPortal is a Windows hosting service that also provides ASP.NET Core hosting. It is a simple, one-click hosting platform with more than 10,000 global servers. Dedicated firewalls, continuous real-time monitoring, automated backups, and regular security patching are just a few of the impressive range of security features it offers to keep your website or app safe from the newest threats. Enterprise-level security with cutting-edge defense against threats from distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks is what ASPHostPortal promises through its partnership with the sector-leading CDN provider Cloudflare (the ASPHostPortal Enterprise add-on is included as standard).

Security features include:

• Free SSL certificate
• Automated backups
• Web Application Firewall (WAF)
• End-to-end encryption
• Malcare bot protection
• Two-factor authentication (2FA)
• Cloudflare Enterprise add-on

2. HostForLIFE.eu

With a variety of shared and cloud hosting options, HostForLIFE.eu was established in 2004 and now hosts more than 2 million domains globally. Although it is on the more “premium” end of the web hosting spectrum, its pricing reflects this. However, as with many other things, you get what you pay for. A dedicated IP, a free SSL certificate for each domain, and automatic daily data backups are standard features included with every HostForLIFE plan. HostForLIFE.eu is a complete but expensive solution that works best for big businesses with complicated cloud infrastructures and special security requirements.

Security features include:

• Free SSL certificate
• Automated daily backups
• Web Application Firewall (WAF)
• Regular patches and updates
• Real-time server monitoring
• AI anti-bot system
• Spam protection

3. UKWindowsHostASP.NET

When it comes to online security, UKWindowsHostASP.NET may not be as fully featured as some other ASP.NET Core hosting solutions, but it is still a very dependable and secure option that is advised for smaller businesses or those with simpler infrastructures. The affordable cloud hosting plans from UKWindowsHostASP.NET come with all of your essential security features as well as a few more sophisticated ones. All hosting plans include features like SSL certificates, automated backups, and multi-factor authentication (MFA), and for an additional fee, you can use the “UKWinShield” malware removal tool for additional security.

Security features include:

• SSL certificates
• Multi-factor authentication
• Automatic daily backups
• Domain privacy protection
• Firewalls for IIS
• ‘UKWinShield’ malware removal tool

4. WindowsASPNETHosting.in

Similar to UKWindowsHostASP.NET, WindowsASP.NETHosting.in is an inexpensive but surprisingly secure ASP.NET Core hosting option that is perfect for meeting the security requirements of small- to medium-sized businesses. In addition to offering a variety of inexpensive cloud hosting plans and virtual private server (VPS) hosting, WindowsASPNETHosting.in also integrates with Cloudflare to safeguard your website from DDoS attacks using a built-in DNS firewall. There are also tools like “SpamAssassin” (which detects and eliminates email spam) and “Bitninja,” a security suite that guards against automated assaults like cross-site scripting (XSS), malware, and brute-force attacks.

Security features include:

• Free SSL certificate
• Automated daily or weekly backups
• ‘SpamAssassin’ tool for removing email spam
• ‘Bitninja’ tool to prevents automated attacks
• Two-factor authentication
• Cloudflare DDoS firewall

5. DiscountService.biz

DiscountService.biz is well known for its quick speeds (it promises to make your servers run up to 20x faster), but that’s not all it has to offer: it also includes a range of strong security features, making it a great combination of speed and security. However, DiscountService does provide a variety of VPS hosting solutions with dedicated server resources. DiscountService does not currently offer traditional cloud hosting. When it comes to website security, DiscountService provides a dual firewall (guarding both the server and the network from threats), sophisticated DDoS protection, and a ‘HackScan’ tool that offers round-the-clock malware protection.

Security features include:

• Free SSL certificate
• DDoS protection
• Automatic backups (not included in the Standard plan)
• ‘HackScan’ 24/7 malware protection
• Server and network firewalls
• Server hardening
• Two-factor authentication

Conclusion

In website management, security issues can come from a variety of different places. Security is crucial, whether you choose a shared hosting plan or dedicated hosting. The performance of your website can be significantly impacted by vulnerabilities in plugins, themes, or other software, making it more vulnerable to hackers. Users can avoid some security issues by selecting a ASP.NET Core hosting provider with robust security measures, even though many security issues can be unpredictable.

Depending on the security options it offers, a ASP.NET host may have a direct impact on the security of a website. The features that hosting companies can offer to help secure your website range from firewall protection to SSL encryption. You can figure out which hosting company offers the best protection options by comparing the feature lists of various hosting companies.

A comprehensive set of security features should include a combination of the following:

• Your personal information can be protected from hackers by using domain security, which also stops them from stealing your credit card or domain login information.
• To stop unauthorized access to your website, firewall protection filters through incoming requests.
• Backups are a crucial element of a contingency plan. Automatically recover and restore your deleted or lost data.
• Your website’s traffic is secured, and endpoint communication is protected, thanks to an SSL certificate.
• DDoS mitigation will safeguard your website against unforeseen attacks and stop them from causing issues with downtime.
• Scanners for websites can assist in defending your website against malware and other harmful threats.

The security of your website depends on your choice of ASP.NET Core host, especially if you’re thinking about using a free or inexpensive service. Verify certifications and compliance standards to see if they have been met. By reading customer reviews, you can also learn more about their security procedures and background. This will help you stay away from disappointments and scams.

SmarterASP.NET Vs ASPHostPortal.com

SmarterASP.NET and ASPHostPortal.com are Windows hosting suppliers and just concentrate on Windows hosting arrangements. ASPHostPortal.com develops quickly in the business while SmarterASP.NET is as of now serving more than 170,000 websites around the globe since 1999.

ASP.NET Core Hosting Features Comparison

SmarterASP.NET plans different Windows hosting bundles on the premise of shared servers, Virtual Private servers, Semi Dedicated servers and reseller servers.

Be that as it may, ASPHostPortal.com just offers 4 ASP.NET Core hosting plans on shared servers. So in underneath, we will look at their shared ASP.NET Core hosting features.

Unlimited web space, transmission capacity and email boxes are fundamental features of SmarterASP.NET ASP.NET Core hosting.

Additionally, SmarterASP.NET gives progressed scripting features: different ASP.NET, Classic ASP, Change.Net renditions, numerous MVC variants, ASP.NET Core, Websockets, PHP, and so forth. Above all, Windows server here is 2016 or above.

Contrasted with SmarterASP.NET, ASPHostPortal.com gives individuals 60GB data transfer capacity while 5 GB plate space in Basic arrangement and 15GB space in other larger amount arranges.

Likewise, ASPHostPortal.com hosts websites on Windows server 2019 or above sponsored with IIS 10. Also, ASPHostPortal.com programming features incorporate different ASP.NET Core, ASP.NET 4.5, Classic ASP, .NET variant switch, various ASP.NET MVC forms, node.js, PHP, CGI, EXE, and so forth.

ASP.NET Core Hosting Price Comparison

The two organizations are notable for moderate ASP.NET Core hosting constantly.

What’s more, subsequent to checking their estimating, we feel that their ASP.NET Core hosting evaluating are for sure low in the business.

SmarterASP.NET 3 ASP.NET Core hosting bundles individually charge at $2.95/mo, $4.95/mo and $7.95/mo.

Notwithstanding that, clients will get free trial for 60 days with constrained features in the event that they need. Moreover, they will likewise get 60 Days Money Back Guarantee.

ASPHostPortal.com sets $0.99/mo, $3.81/mo, $4.92/mo and $11.46/mo for its 4 ASP.NET Core hosting plans. Notwithstanding that, ASPHostPortal.com supports individuals to request a full discount inside the initial 30 days after installment.

ASP.NET Core Hosting Performance Comparison

Both organizations convey superb hosting execution to web masters. Also, the uptime ensure at SmarterASP.NET and ASPHostPortal.com is 99.9%.

There are 3 datacenters under the use of SmarterASP.NET to serve clients. Also, they all meet the criteria of most extreme productivity, upkeep, wellbeing and security.

Moreover, beat data transmission suppliers like AT&T, Level 3, Global Crossing and UUNET guarantee networking ability and reliability. Besides, stores website information in SSD database servers.

The datacenter that ASPHostPortal.com picked is situated in 9 Different countries, which is driving in the business too.

In the datacenter, there are Room Air Conditioning Systems, Uninterrupted Power Supply framework, programmed exchange switches, backup generators, repetitive network limit and a great deal more. On top of that, servers at ASPHostPortal.com are 100% from Dell organization.

ASP.NET Core Hosting Support Comparison

With respect to the support, both organizations think about it much. They orchestrate various strategies for individuals to effortlessly seek offer assistance.

SmarterASP.NET plans committed specialized staffs to react live talk from individuals at whatever point individuals have needs.

In addition, it likewise has day in and day out Helpdesk Support that is valuable as well. Past that, individuals with issues can visit SmarterASP.NET knowledgebase, which is a decent place for self improvement.

Contrasted with SmarterASP.NET, ASPHostPortal.com likewise offers the most helpful support for 24 hours a day and 7 days seven days.

Notwithstanding that, ASPHostPortal.com ticket support is responsive to the point that each ticket will be answered in 2 hours.

More than that, ASPHostPortal.com blog and knowledgebase empower individuals a place to help themselves. To know more input from ASPHostPortal.com, look at it at ASPHostPortal review.

Summary

It is difficult to state which one is better since SmarterASP.NET and ASPHostPortal.com are remarkable on ASP.NET Core hosting administrations. Finally, we recommend ASPHostPortal.com because they are reasonable for each client, particularly huge organizations since it claims ASP.NET Core hosting on numerous level servers. Furthermore, ASPHostPortal.com is additionally useful for .NET designers, independent ventures and even medium organizations.

I will mainly walk through a typical ASP.NET or .NET MVC deployment using shared hosting on ASPHostPortal. For me, it is very easy to use Windows hosting environment to publish ASP.NET Core application.

And as someone who has spent a considerable amount of time working on .NET technologies on shared hosting environments, I know how confusing that process can be often times.

With that, let’s get started.

Choose Your Windows ASP.NET Hosting Plan

ASPHostPortal offers 4 basic ASP.NET shared hosting plan when it comes to Windows hosting. The cheapest option is always the most appealing to most people, but in this case the Host One option gives you exponentially more features and the Host Three package might be the best bang for your buck.

The main difference being that the Host Intro package only allows you up to 1 website on the server, while the Host One or above package allows you unlimited websites. Plus Host One or above comes with MSSQL database and MySQL databases.

My recommendation is please just start from at least Host One or Host Two plan. If next time, you need additional resources, you can upgrade it easily via their portal. There will be no downtime during an upgrade. Whichever plan you pick however, you will be given access to the Plesk control panel for your site management and database management needs.

Plesk Control Panel

Plesk is a leading server management platform and control panel that can run on various servers, offers an extensive list of extensions and comes with a built in WordPress toolkit, if you are looking for a quick plug and play site solution.

Essentially it is software that handles managing your VPS and your websites through its own online interface.

And it is the software that ASPHostPortal uses to manage your Windows hosted websites.

From my experience with Plesk, it is overall a decent tool to manage website configurations and even background tasks, such as database backup automation.

The interface isn’t the most futuristic or advanced on the planet and it does have a slight learning curve associated with it. However, aside from setting up a new website, there isn’t a daily need for the panel in any way.

You can do most things that you can accomplish with IIS through the Plesk panel.

Add your domain

Once you have signed up for a Windows hosting account, it is time to create your website on the Plesk panel. Please be advised that you will receive an activation email from ASPHostPortal team and it contains brief information about your hosting account

The “Plesk Admin” option will launch your server panel on a separate window.

The first thing that you’ll want to do is to add your domain (regardless of where you registered it) to the panel. At the very top of your Plesk page you should see the following options. Click on “Add Domain” to continue.

On the following domain entry form you only need to fill out the domain name that you wish to use and the directory that you will use for your websites files.

You can typically leave these blank as the defaults are the most common use case scenario.

Remember this is not a domain purchasing form. This assumes that you have already registered your desired domain and have access to the DNS records. If you haven’t registered any domain name, you can always register it with ASPHostPortal once your hosting account has been activated.

Publish your web application

There are multiple different ways to publish and deploy an ASP.NET web application. You can precompile the entire web project, in which case each page of your website will receive it’s own DLL file with a uniquely generated name on each build.

Or you can precompile with update, in which case you won’t have to rebuild your application in order to make changes to any front-end code. However you will still need to recompile for server-side code changes.

Start by right-clicking on your desired application and selecting the “Publish” option.

You have a few more options when it comes to where you want to publish your application.

You can either publish your Debug configuration or your Release configuration. Make sure that the precompile option is selected. The Configure link to the right of the precompilation checkmark will take you to the following form:

Depending on how you want to deploy your site, you have various options here and I don’t have any particular recommendations. Once you have saved your publish profile, you can now click on “Publish” and after some waiting time you should see your output directory ready to be transferred to your ASPHostPortal server.

Create your databases

In order to create your databases with GoDaddy you will have to go through the Plesk panel interface mentioned above.

Locate your website from the main Plesk page and you should see the following menu option:

Clicking on the “Add Database”button will take you to the database entry form to fill out. This is where you will give your database a name and where you will select the type of database that you wish to create.

ASPHostPortal Windows hosting allows you to choose from either MS SQL or MySQL database.

Recall that based on your selected package you might have limitations in database creation. The Host One package for example only allows you to create up to 2 SQL Server databases and 4 MySQL databases. While the Host Two and Host Three plan allows you to create more MSSQL databases and MySQL databases. .

You will also have the option of creating a user account for each particular database. It is typically always best practice to give anyone that is going to be working with your database their own unique user accounts configured to their roles.

This also makes it simpler later on to remove users who are no longer working on your application without causing any issues to other users.

Once you have created your database, you can now log in to the remote database in the same manner as how you would connect to any database that you have worked on.

FTP

While you are not necessarily required to create an FTP account for your websites, as you can manage your files directly through Plesk, it is typically much faster and a much more streamlined process to do so through FTP.

You can also benefit from added security, as you can create separate FTP accounts for each person working on your application and then later on simply revoke access when needed.

Locate your website once again in the Plesk panel and click on the “FTP Access” link shown below.

If you are going to have multiple people work on your web applications, it definitely makes sense to create different accounts. In this way, when someone leaves the project for any reason, you can easily invalidate that single FTP account without affecting anybody else’s work.

Note you will need some form of FTP software. You have many options when it comes FTP clients. Though the most popular one you will find is FileZilla.

Set up your DNS

If you purchased your domain through ASPHostPortal then you won’t have to do anything extra in this step.

If you purchased your domain through another 3rd party domain seller such as Google Domains however, then you will need to update your DNS records accordingly.

Configure your SSL certificate

You have a few options when it comes to setting up an SSL certificate with ASPHostPortal. You can either purchase an SSL cert through a 3rd party vendor, purchase one directly through ASPHostPortal, or you can set up a free SSL certificate.

For free SSL certificate, you can use Let’s Encrypt and you can install it directly via Plesk control panel. Here is quick guidelines how to setup Let’s Encrypt certificate on ASPHostPortal.

Configure web.config

There is one last step to take in order to get your website up and running.

You will need to make one addition to your production web.config file.

Add the following directive under the <system.web> tag in your web.config.

<trust level="Full" />

Save and reupload to your server and your ASP.NET website should now be live.

Final Verdict

Regardless of the framework or even the programming language, publishing a website to a production server involves intimate knowledge of the hosting environment.

This is particularly useful when things go wrong and require quick action to fix. If you followed these steps and now have a live website running on a shared hosting server, then congrats are in order.

Below, we’ll look at what HostForLIFE.eu offers, how customers feel about them, and what tests indicate about their performance. So read on!

Pros and Cons

Before we get into details, let’s look at the upsides and downsides of hosting with HostForLIFE.eu.

Pros

• Lots of hosting options
• Fast and stable servers
• Excellent support
• FREE SSL Certificate

Cons

• No site transfer on base plan

About HostForLIFE.eu

HostForLIFE.eu provides services aimed at beginners like their shared hosting plans and domain name registration service. They also offer high-end Cloud and Dedicated hosting plans.

Where Is HostForLIFE.eu Located?

HostForLIFE.eu is an established host, founded in 2008. Based in United Kingdom, HostForLIFE.eu is one of the largest independently-owned hosting companies in the world, employing over 200 people.

Is HostForLIFE.eu Any Good?

As you’ll see shortly, HostForLIFE.eu provides excellent performance and support, even on their cheapest plans.

HostForLIFE.eu Hosting Plans

HostForLIFE.eu offers a wide variety of hosting plans. We’ve categorized them into four fairly distinct categories to help you sort them out.

Shared Hosting

HostForLIFE.eu boasts that its shared hosting plans offer “fast and secure” ASP.NET Core hosting for small- to medium-sized websites. These plans are relatively cheap. But as usual with shared hosting, you share a server with other HostForLIFE.eu customers.

You have access to a custom drag and drop site builder, as well as applications to quickly install popular CMSs.

Your account comes with the standard Plesk control panel.

You can host multiple websites on most plans. This is the most common type of hosting for web developers working on small websites. It’s a great place to start if you’re not sure about which hosting plan you’ll need, as you can always upgrade later.

Shared Hosting Plan Specifics

If you opt for a shared hosting plan, you’ll have four different plans from which you can choose:

• Classic: supports unlimited websites and allows up to 10,000 monthly visits
• Budget: supports an unlimited number of websites allows up to 25,000 monthly visits
• Economy: supports an unlimited number of websites and allows up to 100,000 monthly visits.
• Business: supports an unlimited number of websites and allows up to 300,000 monthly visits.

Regardless of which option you choose, you’ll get access to 100 CMS applications that you can install directly via their Plesk control panel. HostForLIFE.eu will migrate your site if you choose the Budget plan or above plans.

ASP.NET Core Hosting

HostForLIFE.eu offers specialized ASP.NET Core hosting that’s very similar to their shared hosting plans.

All ASP.NET Core hosting packages come with latest ASP.NET Core technology and MSSQL server. This closes up one of the most common security gaps in ASP.NET Core sites.

On top of that, HostForLIFE.eu has security experts whose job is to monitor ASP.NET Core sites for vulnerabilities. When possible, they will protect your site from any potential issues they spot.

Instead host ASP.NET Core website, you can always install WordPress on a shared hosting plan, but if you’re using WordPress, go with the specialized plan (same price anyways).

Cloud Hosting

Those who are looking for a fast and scalable ASP.NET Core hosting solution should consider HostForLIFE’s cloud hosting.

HostForLIFE’s cloud hosting plans are pretty cheap — prices begin at €3.99 per month. Plus large resource allocations and access to 24/7 VIP support, those who are growing their websites might nevertheless find value in this particular hosting option.

HostForLIFE.eu offers four different cloud hosting plans from which you can choose:

• Silver: 10 GB disks space, 20 GB bandwidth, unlimited websites with 2 MSSQL and 2 MySQL database.
• Gold: 30 GB disks space, 70 GB bandwidth, unlimited websites with 4 MSSQL and 5 MySQL database.
• Platinum: 100 GB disks space, 200 GB bandwidth, unlimited websites with 6 MSSQL and 10 MySQL database. This plan suitable for medium large applications and it is highly recommended for ASP.NET developer
• Titanium: 200 GB disks space, 800 GB bandwidth, unlimited websites with 10 MSSQL and 30 MySQL database. This plan powerful for ASP.NET developer and company websites.

Advanced ASP.NET Core Hosting Options

If you’re in need of advanced hosting options, HostForLIFE.eu offers two plan types that might appeal to you.

HostForLIFE’s Dedicated Hosting option gets you a single server wholly devoted to serving your website.

These options are much more expensive than the previous plans, as they give you access to a complete server.

They’re only necessary if your websites need a lot of resources, or you need more control for a custom web application.

Dedicated Hosting

HostForLIFE’s Dedicated Hosting plans provide you a single server wholly devoted to your websites. Prices begin at €12.99 per month, and there are three different pre-configured servers from which you can choose.

Dedicated Hosting customers get access to 24/7 VIP support, and all servers are fully managed by HostForLIFE.eu.

Enterprise Hosting

Enterprise hosting allows you to purchase a web hosting plan that meets your needs exactly.

The purchasing process begins with a conversation between HostForLIFE.eu and you to determine the specific needs of your business. Then, HostForLIFE.eu comes up with a package featuring everything you need to run your website optimally.

Your setup could be a single instance, a public cloud configuration, a private cloud configuration, a geographically-dispersed cluster, or some combination of these.

Enterprise plans are fully-managed by HostForLIFE.eu.

HostForLIFE.eu Hosting Features

There’s much more to HostForLIFE.eu than its plan specifics. Below we discuss general features you should know about.

Hosting Designed for Speed

The big problem with most inexpensive hosting plans is that they’re based on mediocre, overloaded servers. Yes, you often get “unlimited” bandwidth and storage, but your website is incredibly slow.

HostForLIFE.eu has a few important things to offer when it comes to speed.

Solid State Drives

First, all servers, even the ones used for shared hosting plans, incorporate solid state drives (SSDs). Any reading or writing operations that your website needs is done significantly faster than on mechanical hard drives.

Cloudflare CDN

Next, HostForLIFE.eu incorporates the Cloudflare content delivery network (CDN), which makes your website faster if you have visitors across the globe. This is important even if your audience is confined to a single large country like the United States.

Custom Caching

Finally, HostForLIFE.eu has built a custom caching system for the most popular content management systems (CMSs): WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal. This speeds up websites by caching dynamic content so that the server doesn’t have to recreate it for every visitor.

Datacenters

HostForLIFE.eu users can choose which datacenter their site will be hosted on. This allows you to have your online presence close to your main target audience. You can pick from 5 datacenter locations:

1. London
2. Frankfurt
3. Paris
4. Amsterdam
5. Milan.

Control Panel

Most plans come with access to the Plesk control panel. Plesk is a GUI that allows you to administer your website. With it, you can do things like transfer files to your web hosting environment, check your website’s resource usage, manage your email accounts, handle billing, and more.

Furthermore, the Plesk comes with one-click installers, so you can easily install things like the content management systems (eg, WordPress) or add-ons to improve the functionality of your site (eg, forums, photo galleries, e-commerce platforms). There are hundreds of applications you can install this way.

SSL Certificates

HostForLIFE.eu provides a free SSL certificate for all hosting plans. The certificate is from Let’s Encrypt. SSL certificates ideally should be standard since they are key to website security and ensuring that a webpage ranks well in search engine results. But many hosts still charge for it.

Backups

On all plans, even the cheapest one, HostForLIFE.eu provides a free daily backup. This should make data loss much less likely. However, it is generally a good idea to do your own backups as well. There are many tools to allow you to do so.

Staging Environment

On the higher-level shared plans, HostForLIFE.eu offers a staging server for ASP.NET Core website. It allows you to test website changes and additions before they are made live. Once you’re happy with your changes, you just deploy them from your staging site and your actual site will be updated.

Comprehensive Customer Support

HostForLIFE.eu provides three ways to contact their in-house support team, and all options are just a click away from the control panel.

Technical support are available 24/7. HostForLIFE.eu promises to respond to you immediately if you use these methods to get in touch. HostForLIFE.eu has an average first reply of 10 minutes. If you’ve ever dealt with support from a different host, you know how rare that is.

Based on user reviews, HostForLIFE.eu provides excellent customer service. The company receives an overall rating of 4.8 out 5 stars. A significant component of this rating is based on HostForLIFE’s customer service.

Knowledgebase

If you don’t want to bother the support for some reason, or just need a guide or tutorial, HostForLIFE.eu has one of the most organized knowledgebases that we’ve seen. It’s intuitive to find whatever help you’re looking for.

On HostForLIFE’s support page, you’ll also find things like tutorials and webinars, and (depending on what you’re trying to accomplish), there might also be wizards to guide you through the first few steps of the process.

Money-Back Guarantee

HostForLIFE.eu doesn’t offer free trials, but to make sure that you’re satisfied with your purchase, they offer a 30-day money-back guarantee for all their shared hosting plans.

Unfortunately, dedicated hosting packages and other services/add-ons are excluded from the money-back guarantee. Reseller packages are covered only if the entire package is canceled — you cannot cancel just a few accounts.

Uptime and Performance

HostForLIFE.eu guarantees a 99.9% uptime for all their hosting plans.

They do that with a variety of security measures, from automatic back-ups to proactive server monitoring.

In addition, accounts are completely isolated. So even if someone’s website goes down on a shared server, it doesn’t affect the other websites.

Based on our testing, the performance for HostForLIFE.eu over the past year has been excellent:

• Uptime: 99.995%
• Average response rate: 381 milliseconds.

As you can see, HostForLIFE.eu exceeds its uptime guarantee of 99.9% — with a measured uptime of 99.995%. You can expect just over 2 minutes of downtime per month outside normally scheduled maintenance periods.

Summary

Overall, HostForLIFE.eu is one of the best ASP.NET Core hosting services there is.

The performance of their servers, from the cheapest shared package to the most expensive dedicated package, is excellent.

The support is available 24/7 and goes the extra mile to help you build a website that you’re happy with.

This functionality is implemented using a Worker Service Template that becomes the initial point for writing and building long-running service applications. We are focusing on a solution without the IIS because the same may not be available at all times.

Even in the situations where you have IIS already set up, it may not host .NET Core applications, let alone ASP.NET Core. Hence, to host them, you need to understand the implementation of the .NET Core web application in Visual Studio.

Why Use a Web App as a Windows Service?

In situations where you want to host .NET Core applications without IIS, we can work with self-contained deployment. Here, the application basically runs as a .exe file.

Follow these steps to set up a hosting environment for ASP.NET 3.1 in Windows Service.

1. Create new ASP.NET Core 3.1 Application in Visual Studio

Create a new project in VS2019 .NetCore web application. Specify version 3.1 as you create a new project in the folder (follow the screenshot).

2. Running an ASP.Net Core application as a Windows Service

Following the first step, specify a runtime for the application. ASP.NET Core also supports operating systems where Windows Services don’t run.

For this, we must modify the project file. To modify the project file, double click on the Project name and add the following two lines as per the screenshot.

Add a reference using NuGet package Microsoft.ASPNetCore.Hosting.WindowsServices and Newtonsoft.json.

This Package has everything needed to run an ASP.Net Core application as a Window service.

Now, run the application as Windows Service and configure it in the Program.cs file. In case you want to run an application as IIS Express, then there is no need to change any configuration setting, and we can directly run an application as IIS Express.

We can specify a different port in the appsettings.json and appsettings.Devlopment.json file to run an application on this port directly using the Windows service.

Specify Port no 5009.

appsettings.json File:

{
"Logging": {
"LogLevel": {
"Default": "Information",
"Microsoft": "Warning",
"Microsoft.Hosting.Lifetime": "Information"
	}
  },
"AllowedHosts": "*",
"ServicePort" :  5009
}
 appsettings.Devlopment.json file:
{
"DetailedErrors": true,
"Logging": {
"LogLevel": {
"Default": "Information",
"Microsoft": "Warning",
"Microsoft.Hosting.Lifetime": "Information"
	}
  },
"ServicePort": 5009

Moving on, to specify our appsettings.json file as Configuration path in Program.cs file to let the application read that path and run on that port. See the screenshots below.

Program.csFile:

3. Build the application and Publish the code

With the above-given configuration completed in the Program.cs file start building the application, followed by publishing the code in the folder.

4. Making the application Run as WindowsService

To make the application run as a Windows service follow these steps;

• Open the Command line with administrative Permission.
• Register the application as a Windows service using this command (space after “binPath=” is mandatory)

Create windows service using the following command:

sc create AspNetCoreWindowsServicebinPath = “path to my publish folder application exe –service”

In the example above, we have taken AspNetCoreWindowsService as the name; you can use any name you want to keep. Also, –service is an argument name that we pass in Program.cs file.

Nest, open the services.msc and see your hosted Windows service with the name AspNetCoreWindowsService to start the service.

When the service starts, open the browser and navigate to http://localhost:50009 to see the web application is running. If you would remember, we had set port 5009 in the earlier steps of ASP.NET core web application development. Specifically, look for the part where we had specified it in the appsetting.json file as mentioned above.

Delete windows service using the following command:

Stop the existing running instance before releasing the new version of the service. Once done, write the following command.

scdeleteAspNetCoreWindowsService

Again, AspNetCoreWindowsService is the windows service name that we have set to give you an example.

Conclusion

This article takes you through the steps to set up a hosting environment for ASP.NET Core 3.1 web application development in Windows Service. Although the process is simple enough to understand, we at DEV IT have understood the nuances of the same along with knowing everything about agile development practices.

Steps to Upgrade .NET Core 3.1 to .NET 6.0

1. Upgrade the Target Framework

Right-click on the project then go to properties and change the target.

Then select the target framework to .NET 6.0 as depicted below and save it.

Alternatively from project.csproj file you can change the target Framework from netcore3.1 to net 6.0 as shown below.

<PropertyGroup>
    <OutputType>Exe</OutputType>
    <TargetFramework>net6.0</TargetFramework>
  </PropertyGroup>

2. Updating Package references

Update Package references if there are any. Go to Project.csproj file and upgrade packages as shown below.

For an instance upgrade the package Microsoft.AspNetCore.JsonPatch and Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Tools and so on from version 3.1.6 to 6.0.0 as illustrated below.

<ItemGroup>
-    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.AspNetCore.JsonPatch" Version="3.1.6" />
-    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Tools" Version="3.1.6" />
-    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.Caching.Abstractions" Version="3.1.6" />
-    <PackageReference Include="System.Net.Http.Json" Version="3.2.1" />
+    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.AspNetCore.JsonPatch" Version="6.0.0" />
+    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Tools" Version="6.0.0" />
+    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.Caching.Abstractions" Version="6.0.0" />
+    <PackageReference Include="System.Net.Http.Json" Version="6.0.0" />
</ItemGroup>

3. Delete obj and bin folder

You may need to delete the existing bin and obj folder. Go to the respective project directory and delete those folders. Additionally, you can delete the NuGet cache by running the below command.

dotnet nuget locals --clear all

4. Build the solution

Then build the solution and see whether there are errors or your app is built successfully. If there are errors based on an error message correct the code and rebuild the solution. On successful build of the application, your app is upgraded to the .NET 6.0.

The above three steps are required to follow to upgrade the class library and console application to migrate from .NET Core 3.1 to .NET 6.0.

On the other hand, to update the Asp.NET Core 3.1 and Blazor application you need to follow more steps in addition to the above three.

Following are some changes you need to consider for upgrading ASP.NET Core 3.1 web application to .NET6

• Minimal hosting and statup.cs file changes
  Note that minimal hosting unifies the Startup.cs and Program.cs to a single Program.cs file. Moreover, the ConfigureServices and Configure are no longer used in .NET6.0.
• Model Binding
  Datetime values are model bound as UTC timezone. For applications build on ASP .NET Core 5 and later, model binding binds the DateTime as UTC timezone whereas, in applications built using ASP.NET Core 3.1 and earlier, Datetime values were model bound as local time and the timezone was determined by the server.
• Docker Image
  If your app uses docker then you need to pull a Docker image that consists of ASP.NET Core 6.0 runtime as well. The below command can be used for that.

docker pull mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/aspnet:6.0

You can check the details on the below document.

Summary

In this article, we have learned how to upgrade the project from .NET Core 3.1 to .NET 6.0 with an example of a console application. This article will be useful while migrating your application from .NET Core 3.1 to .NET 6.0 without encountering any issues. Best of luck to migrate your application before the end of support.

They offer a wide range of hosting options, plans at different price points, and phenomenal customer support. Whether you’re a small blog, medium-sized business, or large online store, ASPHostPortal has an option for you. 

In a nutshell, ASPHostPortal is a host that your business can grow with, which is pretty darn important. 

ASPHostPortal Compared to The Best ASP.NET Web Hosts

ASPHostPortal fares exceptionally well against other products in its category. It’s without a doubt a key contender for top web hosting for ASP.NET Core services. 

But what I love most about it is that they’re both extremely scalable and dedicated to supporting your ASP.NET Core website. They are actually one of only three web hosts that are officially recommended by Microsoft.

And their plans are built to handle your site, no matter how popular you get. Their mid-tier Host One plan supports 100,000 visits each month, while their top-of-the-line Host Three plan can handle around 600,000 monthly visitors.

ASPHostPortal also supports your ASP.NET website with their specifically debugging code (which we’ll discuss below) and their 24/7 ASP.NET wizard customer support team. 

But I appreciate that you may have different needs or wish to explore your ASP.NET Core hosting options a bit further before committing to one host. 

That’s why we’ve taken the time to research and test some of the top web hosts for ASP.NET Core for you.

Who is ASPHostPortal Best For?

If I were extremely broad, I would say ASPHostPortal is excellent for just about anyone who wants to host their website on ASP.NET. 

But to get specific, I’d say ASPHostPortal is best for a small website owner who has little to no experience running a website and expects their website to grow over time. With flexible plans and excellent customer support, ASPHostPortal is great for beginners and scaling over time.

ASPHostPortal: The Pros and Cons

The Pros

Top-Notch Customer Support: Ever had seemingly unresolvable issues with technology and tried everything under the sun to fix it to no avail? Yeah, me too. 

Building a website doesn’t have to be scary or traumatic when you have ASPHostPortal support on your side—your wish is their command. The customer support team is phenomenal. They receive almost a 100% satisfaction rating every year. 

They have 24/7 support that you can reach anytime you like. Even the most complex issues are resolved in an average time of 15 minutes, so you can get back to business asap. 

These things are super important for a beginning website owner to combat the inevitable challenges they face.

ASP.NET Recommended: ASPHostPortal comes recommended by Microsoft, and with good reason. Their ASP.NET Core hosting plans are some of the most comprehensive and feature-rich you’ll find today.

Many of the support team are highly trained in ASP.NET Core and will happily assist you with ASP.NET Core related troubleshooting, compared to other hosts, who will simply tell you it’s not their issue (which truthfully, it isn’t). 

To further earn its place as a ASP.NET-recommended host, ASPHostPortal keeps developing new features for their ASP.NET hosting plans.

From automated ASP.NET updates and on-demand backups of your sites to their SuperCacher technology which speeds up your site without you having to touch a thing, ASPHostPortal supports ASP.NET users so well because they understand the most pressing needs their websites face.

Low Introductory Price & Money-Back Guarantee: With a monthly hosting solution starting as low as $3.99 per month, ASPHostPortal is a perfect option for even the most beginner website creators. 

Furthermore, the lead-in hosting plan includes all of the key features a new website owner would want in a plan, rather than having the absolute bare-bones to get the user to commit to a higher plan immediately. 

If something goes wrong, or your website doesn’t function the way you expect it to, you can get a full refund of your hosting fees within 30 days of signup.

Excellent Uptime & Site Speed: Uptime and site speed go hand-in-hand. Uptime refers to the amount of time the server stays up and running, while site speed refers to how quickly your website loads. 

Between independent tests my team has run and what I’ve heard from other longtime users of ASPHostPortal, you can count on reliability in both these aspects.

Uptime is never a problem for ASPHostPortal to maintain, especially after they’ve made some upgrades to their servers in recent years. On my most recent month-long test of their shared hosting, I only experienced two seconds of total downtime for the month. That’s extraordinarily reliable.

And site speed was nothing to sneeze at during that testing period, either. Shared and Cloud hosting aren’t exactly known for lightning-fast loading times. I’ve seen some big-name providers (who say all sorts of glowing things about site speed on their servers) return tests where they’ve averaged well over a full second for during a month.

Averaging over one second implies either it’s never faster than that or that there were significant periods where page load times approached or even exceeded two seconds.

In today’s internet, that’s an eternity.

But for our most recent test of ASPHostPortal’s shared hosting, we found our demo site consistently loaded in just over half a second, averaging around 600 milliseconds. Better still, it was steady just about the entire month, with no crazy spikes in load times that would have ruined a visitor’s experience if they had found the site during that period.

That speediness is further bolstered by some extra features ASPHostPortal has developed. The ASPHostPortal Optimizer handles optimization and caching to help you deliver your content to visitors in the blink of an eye. And, the company’s proprietary Ultrafast ASP.NET (available on the Host Two and above plans) reduces the time to first byte by 30%.

Free Website Transfer: Many people are worried about making the switch to a new host. After all, it’s a scary process. What if you lose your entire website or cause irreparable damage? 

With ASPHostPortal , you don’t need to worry. They’ll do it for you.

Most hosts will just move the files over. But ASPHostPortal will also make the necessary tweaks to ensure everything is working smoothly for you after the transition. 

Free Daily Back-Up: Most hosts will only back your website up every other day or even once a week. So, if anything happens to your ASP.NET Core website that you can’t fix, you might be forced to go back an entire week, meaning you’ll lose everything you’ve done in the meantime. 

But, with ASPHostPortal, the worst-case scenario is that you’ll only lose the changes you’d made in the 24 hours since the last back-up. If that’s not peace of mind for someone making constant changes to their website, I don’t know what is! 

Great for Scalability: When you’re just starting out in business, there is no way but up, right? With ASPHostPortal’s flexible range of plans, you don’t have to worry about outgrowing your host. Simply upgrade your plan as your business grows.  

The Cons

Storage Limitations: The low amount of storage space available on the shared hosting plans is unlikely to bother most of you reading this post. However, if your site does grow beyond 1 GB, you’ll have no choice but to switch to the more expensive shared hosting plans. 

The Host Intro plan includes just 10,000 site visitors, so if your website traffic grows exponentially too quickly off the bat, you may find yourself needing to upgrade your plan sooner than you think. 

ASPHostPortal Pricing

ASPHostPortal offers four tiers for their hosting options:

• Host Intro
• Host One
• Host Two
• Host Three

These tiers’ pricing remains the same across the board for standard shared ASP.NET Core hosting.

Cloud hosting has its own levels and pricing, which we’ll discuss in a bit. 

Host Intro

As the name suggests, this plan is perfect for those new to business or looking for smaller websites. The StartUp plan allows you one website, 1 GB of space, and up to 10,000 monthly visitors. Pricing starts at $0.99 per month on the introductory offer, which requires a one-year commitment.

However, it’s no slouch when it comes to included features. With this plan, you’ll get:

• ASPHostPortal Optimizer features included
• Automatic daily backups

Overall, it’s a great plan for those who are just getting started. The only thing to be wary of is outgrowing your monthly visitors limit. If you think you’re going to scale quickly, it would be worth starting straight off with the Host One or Host Two plan.

Host One

The Host One plan is perfect for medium-sized businesses or those who know they will be managing more than one website. You’ll have access to unlimited websites, 5 GB of web space, and up to 100,000 monthly visitors. Pricing starts at $3.81 per month for a 5-years term. 

Aside from the features included in the Host One plan, this plan also includes:

• On-demand backup copies
• Ultrafast ASP.NET
• Staging environment 
• Add collaborators to your site

It’s easy to understand why Host One is ASPHostPortal’s best-selling plan. It includes a range of great features that are easy to use and will fit the brief most in need of a website out there that expects a steady traffic flow. 

Host Two

Host Two is the most favourite shared hosting plan ASPHostPortal has to offer. It’s designed for ‘technology geeks’ who want lots of control over their website. 

Host Two plan will give you unlimited websites, 15 GB of web space, and up to 400,000 monthly visits. Needless to say, it’s truly designed for large businesses with a high volume of traffic. Pricing starts at just $7.21 per month when you sign up for a 5 years of hosting up front. 

The GoGeek plan includes all the features mentioned above, as well as: 

• Use more server resources for higher process execution time
• FREE SSL
• Daily backup
• Ultrafast ASP.NET for faster page loads
• Priority support from ASPHostPortal’s most experienced customer support agents

In a nutshell, this plan is for those of you who know what you’re doing with websites. If you don’t understand some of the plan’s technological features, it may not be the best plan for you. Unless, of course, you have a specialist on your team to manage your website and need access to high volume traffic capabilities. 

Host Three

Host Three is the most extensive shared hosting plan ASPHostPortal has to offer. As the name suggests, it’s designed for ASP.NET developer or medium-large business.

Host Three plan will give you unlimited websites, 50 GB of web space, and up to 600,000 monthly visits. Needless to say, it’s truly designed for large businesses with a high volume of traffic. Pricing starts at just $11.46 per month when you sign up for a 5 years of hosting up front. 

The GoGeek plan includes all the features mentioned above, as well as: 

• Use more server resources for higher process execution time
• FREE SSL
• DNS checking periodically
• Daily backup
• Ultrafast ASP.NET for faster page loads
• Priority support from ASPHostPortal’s most experienced customer support agents

ASPHostPortal Offerings

ASPHostPortal Web Hosting

ASPHostPortal offers fast and secure web hosting for websites of any kind. Their general web hosting product is optimized for a range of Content Management Systems (CMS) such as WordPress, Umbraco, Joomla, and more. 

You’ll be able to build and launch your website quickly and easily with their full website solution. If you’re an online store, you’ll be able to install the shopping cart of your choice for free. 

Domain registration is easy and affordable with ASPHostPortal, so you’ll be able to enjoy the convenience of managing both your domain and your site in one place. 

You’ll also have access to an unlimited number of email accounts when you create your domain, which is perfect for managing different areas of your business. 

ASPHostPortal ASP.NET Core Hosting

ASPHostPortal is one of the few ASP.NET hosting companies that offer hosting options specifically for ASP.NET. As mentioned previously, they are even highly recommended directly by Microsoft. 

Upon login to your new website, you’ll be prompted to set your site up simply and easily with ASPHostPortal’s Starter kit. The whole process takes minutes from start to finish, even for a beginner!

ASPHostPortal Cloud Hosting

Cloud hosting is a relatively new way to host websites. It’s an ideal solution for businesses and websites of medium to larger sizes, who have the capacity to grow very quickly. If you are starting to outgrow your shared hosting plan, cloud hosting is the next step. 

ASPHostPortal’s cloud hosting will provide you with guaranteed resources with your very own RAM and CPU. You can also upgrade the RAM, CPU, and disk space of your cloud plan at any time. Better yet, there is no downtime with this process—the resources are added immediately. 

If you want to automate the scaling process, you can do that, too! ASPHostPortal’s unique auto-scale option will adjust your CPU and RAM to meet the needs of unexpected traffic surges, preventing any slowness or downtime. 

The best part is that the scalable amount is pre-determined by you, so you’ll still have control over the scale’s parameters. 

Finally, cloud hosting with ASPHostPortal will also include a free dedicated IP. This feature will give you peace of mind that your website is safe from IP blacklist due to other webmasters’ actions.

ASPHostPortal.com is Recommended for ASP.NET Core 6 Hosting

Is ASPHostPortal.com prescribed for ASP.NET Core 6 Hosting? Completely, the answer is “yes.” No matter you are an personal blogger or an entrepreneur who used to construct site utilizing SSRS, you are constantly ready to discover high caliber and elite ASP.NET Core 6 hosting arrangements at a reasonable price.

Searching for more insights about ASPHostPortal.com, please look at www.asphostportal.com.

Why do we need a different approach from MVC?

In .Net Core, MVC and Web API have been combined so you now have the same controllers for both MVC actions and API actions. However, despite the similarities, when it comes to error handling, you almost certainly want to use a different approach for API errors.

MVC actions are typically executed as a result of a user action in the browser so returning an error page to the browser is the correct approach. With an API, this is not generally the case.

API calls are most often called by back-end code or javascript code and in both cases, you never want to simply display the response from the API. Instead we check the status code and parse the response to determine if our action was successful, displaying data to the user as necessary. An error page is not helpful in these situations. It bloats the response with HTML and makes client code difficult because JSON (or XML) is expected, not HTML.

While we want to return information in a different format for Web API actions, the techniques for handling errors are not so different from MVC. Much of the time, it is practically the same flow but instead of returning a View, we return JSON. Let’s look at a few examples.

The minimal approach

With MVC actions, failure to display a friendly error page is unacceptable in a professional application. With an API, while not ideal, empty response bodies are far more permissible for many invalid request types. Simply returning a 404 status code (with no response body) for an API route that does not exist may provide the client with enough information to fix their code.

With zero configuration, this is what ASP.NET Core gives us out of the box.

Depending on your requirements, this may be acceptable for many common status codes but it will rarely be sufficient for validation failures. If a client passes you invalid data, returning a 400 Bad Request is not going to be helpful enough for the client to diagnose the problem. At a minimum, we need to let them know which fields are incorrect and ideally, we would return an informative message for each failure.

With ASP.NET Web API, this is trivial. Assuming that we are using model binding, we get validation for free by using data annotations and/or IValidatableObject. Returning the validation information to the client as JSON is one easy line of code.

Here is our model:

public class GetProductRequest : IValidatableObject
{
    [Required]
    public string ProductId { get; set; }

    public IEnumerable<ValidationResult> Validate(ValidationContext validationContext)
    {
        if (...)
        {
            yield return new ValidationResult("ProductId is invalid", new[] { "ProductId" });
        }
    }
}

And our controller action:

[HttpGet("product")]
public IActionResult GetProduct(GetProductRequest request)
{
    if (!ModelState.IsValid)
    {
        return BadRequest(ModelState);
    }

    ...
}

A missing ProductId results in a 400 status code plus a JSON response body similar to the following:

{
    "ProductId":["The ProductId field is required."]
}

This provides an absolute minimum for a client to consume our service but it is not difficult to improve upon this baseline and create a much better client experience. In the next few sections we will look at how simple it is to take our service to the next level.

Returning additional information for specific errors

If we decide that a status code only approach is too bare-bones, it is easy to provide additional information. This is highly recommended. There are many situations where a status code by itself is not enough to determine the cause of failure. If we take a 404 status code as an example, in isolation, this could mean:

• We are making the request to the wrong site entirely (perhaps the ‘www’ site rather than the ‘api’ subdomain)
• The domain is correct but the URL does not match a route
• The URL correctly maps to a route but the resource does not exist

If we could provide information to distinguish between these cases, it could be very useful for a client. Here is our first attempt at dealing with the last of these:

[HttpGet("product")]
public async Task<IActionResult> GetProduct(GetProductRequest request)
{
    ...

    var model = await _db.Get(...);

    if (model == null)
    {
        return NotFound("Product not found");
    }

    return Ok(model);
}

We are now returning a more useful message but it is far from perfect. The main problem is that by using a string in the NotFound method, the framework will return this string as a plain text response rather than JSON.

As a client, a service returning a different content type for certain errors is much harder to deal with than a consistent JSON service.

This issue can quickly be rectified by changing the code to what is shown below but in the next section, we will talk about a better alternative.

return NotFound(new { message = "Product not found" });

Customising the response structure for consistency

Constructing anonymous objects on the fly is not the approach to take if you want a consistent client experience. Ideally our API should return the same response structure in all cases, even when the request was unsuccessful.

Let’s define a base ApiResponse class:

public class ApiResponse
{
    public int StatusCode { get; }

    [JsonProperty(NullValueHandling = NullValueHandling.Ignore)]
    public string Message { get; }

    public ApiResponse(int statusCode, string message = null)
    {
        StatusCode = statusCode;
        Message = message ?? GetDefaultMessageForStatusCode(statusCode);
    }

    private static string GetDefaultMessageForStatusCode(int statusCode)
    {
        switch (statusCode)
        {
            ...
            case 404:
                return "Resource not found";
            case 500:
                return "An unhandled error occurred";
            default:
                return null;
        }
    }
}

We’ll also need a derived ApiOkResponse class that allows us to return data:

public class ApiOkResponse : ApiResponse
{
    public object Result { get; }

    public ApiOkResponse(object result)
        :base(200)
    {
        Result = result;
    }
}

Finally, let’s declare an ApiBadRequestResponse class to handle validation errors (if we want our responses to be consistent, we will need to replace the built-in functionality used above).

public class ApiBadRequestResponse : ApiResponse
{
    public IEnumerable<string> Errors { get; }

    public ApiBadRequestResponse(ModelStateDictionary modelState)
        : base(400)
    {
        if (modelState.IsValid)
        {
            throw new ArgumentException("ModelState must be invalid", nameof(modelState));
        }

        Errors = modelState.SelectMany(x => x.Value.Errors)
            .Select(x => x.ErrorMessage).ToArray();
    }
}

These classes are very simple but can be customised to your own requirements.

If we change our action to use these ApiResponse based classes, it becomes:

[HttpGet("product")]
public async Task<IActionResult> GetProduct(GetProductRequest request)
{
    if (!ModelState.IsValid)
    {
        return BadRequest(new ApiBadRequestResponse(ModelState));
    }

    var model = await _db.Get(...);

    if (model == null)
    {
        return NotFound(new ApiResponse(404, $"Product not found with id {request.ProductId}"));
    }

    return Ok(new ApiOkResponse(model));
}

The code is slightly more complicated now but all three types of response from our action (success, bad request and not found) now use the same general structure.

Centralising Validation Logic

Given that validation is something that you do in practically every action, it makes to refactor this generic code into an action filter. This reduces the size of our actions, removes duplicated code and improves consistency.

public class ApiValidationFilterAttribute : ActionFilterAttribute
{
    public override void OnActionExecuting(ActionExecutingContext context)
    {
        if (!context.ModelState.IsValid)
        {
            context.Result = new BadRequestObjectResult(new ApiBadRequestResponse(context.ModelState));
        }

        base.OnActionExecuting(context);
    }
}

Handling global errors

Responding to bad input in our controller actions is the best way to provide specific error information to our client. Sometimes however, we need to respond to more generic issues. Examples of this include:

• A 401 Unauthorized code returned from security middleware.
• A request URL that does not map to a controller action resulting in a 404.
• Global exceptions. Unless you can do something about a specific exception, you should not clutter your actions with try catch blocks.

As with MVC, the easiest way to deal with global errors is by using StatusCodePagesWithReExecute and UseExceptionHandler.

UseExceptionHandler works in a similar way, catching and logging unhandled exceptions and allowing you to execute another action to handle the error. In this example, we configure both pieces of middleware to point to the same action.

We add the middleware in startup.cs:

app.UseStatusCodePagesWithReExecute("/error/{0}");
app.UseExceptionHandler("/error/500");
...
//register other middleware that might return a non-success status code

Then we add our error handling action:

[Route("error/{code}")]
public IActionResult Error(int code)
{
    return new ObjectResult(new ApiResponse(code));
}

With this in place, all exceptions and non-success status codes (without a response body) will be handled by our error action where we return our standard ApiResponse.

Custom Middleware

For the ultimate in control, you can replace or complement built-in middleware with your own custom middleware. The example below handles any bodiless response and returns our simple ApiResponse object as JSON. If this is used in conjunction with code in our actions to return ApiResponse objects, we can ensure that both success and failure responses share the same common structure and all requests result in both a status code and a consistent JSON body:

public class ErrorWrappingMiddleware
{
    private readonly RequestDelegate _next;
    private readonly ILogger<ErrorWrappingMiddleware> _logger;
    
    public ErrorWrappingMiddleware(RequestDelegate next, ILogger<ErrorWrappingMiddleware> logger)
    {
        _next = next;
        _logger = logger ?? throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(logger));
    }

    public async Task Invoke(HttpContext context)
    {
        try
        {
            await _next.Invoke(context);
        }
        catch(Exception ex)
        {
            _logger.LogError(EventIds.GlobalException, ex, ex.Message);

            context.Response.StatusCode = 500;
        }            

        if (!context.Response.HasStarted)
        {
            context.Response.ContentType = "application/json";

            var response = new ApiResponse(context.Response.StatusCode);

            var json = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(response);

            await context.Response.WriteAsync(json);
        }            
    }
}

Conclusion

Handling errors in ASP.NET Core APIs is similar but different from MVC error code. At the action level, we want to return custom objects (serialised as JSON) rather than custom views.

For generic errors, we can still use the StatusCodePagesWithReExecute middleware but need to modify our code to return an ObjectResult instead of a ViewResult.

For full control, it is not difficult to write your own middleware to handle errors exactly as required.

High-end logging requirements like Database or File or Rolling File logging provider are still not available through the .NET Core framework.

Currently, the available ASP.NET Core version logging framework is already very rich and gives us a lot of flexibility of logging to different logging providers like Console, Event, EventSource, etc.

We shall be targeting SQL Databaseas logging source.

NLog supports below database provider as well,

• System.Data.OracleClient
• Oracle.DataAccess.Client
• System.Data.SQLite
• Npgsql
• MySql.Data.MySqlClient

Getting started

Create ASP.NET Core API

NLog is available as NuGet package. Please use the latest available version available for the ASP.NET Core version.

PM>Install-Package NLog.Web.AspNetCore -Version 4.9.1

Additionally please install below NuGet package for SQL database provider support

PM>Install-Package System.Data.SqlClient -Version 4.81

OR

You can also also install the packages from Nuget Package Manager,

NLog Database Configuration

NLog support multiple ways of managing the configuration like you can use code or combination of code and config file etc.

DDL – Create SQL Table schema

I have used below script to create the NlogDBLog table.

Sample DDL file can be found on GitHub,

SET ANSI_NULLS ON
 SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON
 CREATE TABLE [dbo].[NlogDBLog] (
     [Id] [int] IDENTITY(1,1) NOT NULL,
     [Application] [nvarchar](50) NOT NULL,
     [Logged] [datetime] NOT NULL,
     [Level] [nvarchar](50) NOT NULL,
     [Message] [nvarchar](max) NOT NULL,
     [Logger] [nvarchar](250) NULL,
     [Callsite] [nvarchar](max) NULL,
     [Exception] [nvarchar](max) NULL,
   CONSTRAINT [PK_dbo.NlogDBLog] PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED ([Id] ASC)
     WITH (PAD_INDEX  = OFF, STATISTICS_NORECOMPUTE  = OFF, IGNORE_DUP_KEY = OFF, ALLOW_ROW_LOCKS  = ON, ALLOW_PAGE_LOCKS  = ON) ON [PRIMARY]
 ) ON [PRIMARY]

Please update the above script for any customization if needed.

After running the above script our database schema looks as below,

Create NLog.Config

Below is sample config file,

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<nlog xmlns="http://www.nlog-project.org/schemas/NLog.xsd"
      xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
      autoReload="true"
      internalLogLevel="Warn"
      internalLogFile="C:\temp\Logs\internal-nlog4txt">
  <extensions>
    <add assembly="NLog.Web.AspNetCore"/>
  </extensions>
 
  <targets>
 
    <target name="database" xsi:type="Database">
      <connectionString>
        Server=localhost\SQL;Database=master;Trusted_Connection=True;
      </connectionString>
      <commandText>
        insert into dbo.NlogDBLog (
        Application, Logged, Level, Message,
        Logger, CallSite, Exception
        ) values (
        @Application, @Logged, @Level, @Message,
        @Logger, @Callsite, @Exception
        );
      </commandText>
      <parameter name="@application" layout="AspNetCoreNlog" />
      <parameter name="@logged" layout="${date}" />
      <parameter name="@level" layout="${level}" />
      <parameter name="@message" layout="${message}" />
      <parameter name="@logger" layout="${logger}" />
      <parameter name="@callSite" layout="${callsite:filename=true}" />
      <parameter name="@exception" layout="${exception:tostring}" />
    </target>
  </targets>
 
  <rules>
    <logger name="*" minlevel="Trace" writeTo="database" />
  </rules>
</nlog>

In the above Configuration we have defined below,

• name – Our custom target name for the given provider identification. It should be the same as writeTo field in Rules tag.
• type – Target type Database or File
• connectionString -Define connection string
• commandText -Please mention the DML command here targetting NlogDBLog created using DDL commands

Loading Configuration

Please update the Main method for adding the Database logging as shown in below-highlighted code in Program.cs

var logger = NLog.Web.NLogBuilder.ConfigureNLog("nlog.config").GetCurrentClassLogger();

Below is the complete code base,

Please update HostBuilder as below using UseNLog,

public static IHostBuilder CreateHostBuilder(string[] args) =>
          Host.CreateDefaultBuilder(args)
              .ConfigureWebHostDefaults(webBuilder =>
              {
                  webBuilder.UseStartup<Startup>();
              })
             .ConfigureLogging(logging =>
             {
                 logging.ClearProviders();
                 logging.SetMinimumLevel(LogLevel.Trace);
             })
             .UseNLog();

Let’s do the logging using ILogger instance in any part of the code,

[HttpGet("{id}")]
public ActionResult<IEnumerable<string>> Get(int id)
{
    _logger.LogInformation("Start : Getting item details for {ID}", id);
 
    List<string> list = new List<string>();
 
    list.Add("A");
    list.Add("B");
 
    _logger.LogInformation($"Completed : Item details for  {{{string.Join(", ", list)}}}");
 
    return list;
}

Below is how the logs will captured in the NLog SQL table,

Adding Database provider

If not using SQL provider then please use fully qualified name of the provider connection type.

MySQL Client

dbProvider="MySql.Data.MySqlClient.MySqlConnection, MySqlConnector"

SQL Client

dbProvider="Microsoft.Data.SqlClient.SqlConnection, Microsoft.Data.SqlClient"

SQLite client

dbProvider="Microsoft.Data.Sqlite.SqliteConnection, Microsoft.Data.Sqlite"

Summary

NLog simplifies and helps us enabling logging in a few simple steps and address the Database logging requirements easily. Currently, high-end logging requirements like Database or Files are not yet available through the .NET Core framework and certainly, we need to depend on custom or existing external solutions and NLog suffices that requirement easily.