What is Microsoft’s Modern Web App Pattern for .NET and How Does It Transform Cloud App Development?

The trend of app development isn’t going to fade!

Let’s face it! 

As per the reports from Global App Testing, on average, a person uses 9 mobile apps daily and 30 apps monthly. 

Keeping such emerging trends in the realm of app development, Microsoft announced the Modern Web App (MWA) pattern for .NET at the recent GitHub universe. 

Not only do these functionalities integrate Microsoft Azure AI services directly into tools like VS code but they may aid developers in integrating AI within their existing workflows. 

Did you know?

In an official statement made by the tech community of Microsoft, modern web app represents a revolution in transforming web apps towards cloud-native architectures. 

So, now the question arises- What is MWA all about? How it may transform cloud app development?

Without further ado, let’s dive in! 

What is a Modern Web App?

To put it simply, MWP is built upon the reliable web app pattern which is recognized as the trusted and facilitated transition to the cloud with minimal changes under a Replatform approach. Furthermore, the MWA pattern helps guide development teams in breaking down and decoupling core application functions into microservices, promoting a more modular and scalable architecture for cloud-based environments. 

Also, this approach not only streamlines the migration process but also enhances flexibility and performance in cloud-native applications.

Speaking of the functioning of the MWP, it allocates dedicated resources to crucial components which may significantly enhance performance and reliability. Furthermore, it helps facilitate independent versioning and scaling of these components which may offer unmatched flexibility to enhance the separate parts of the application without jeopardizing the complete system. 

In a nutshell, the main objective is to significantly minimize the goal of ineffectiveness in a specific part of the app that’s hampering the other parts of the application. 

What are the Key Features of the Modern Web App Pattern?

Let’s take a look at the potential features and benefits of the modern web app pattern. 

#1. Info on Decoupling 

One of the major key highlights of the modern web app pattern is that it provides detailed guidance on decoupling crucial parts of the web application to facilitate enhanced agility while optimizing costs. Furthermore, it enables developers to modernize applications through refactoring without allowing the professional to completely revamp the entire website. 

#2. Incremental Organization 

Another standout feature of the modern web app pattern is that it adopts incremental modernization strategies such as the “Strangler-Fig” pattern. Furthermore, it enables a gradual transition from monolithic to decoupled services which would ultimately help minimize risks while fostering a smoother modernization process. When you reduce the need for a complete application overhaul, the MWA pattern helps the organization to introduce new features with no disruption, whatsoever. 

#3. Enhanced Security

MWA is designed with a hub-and-spoke architecture for its product infrastructure. This approach offers a centralized hub that connects to various spokes, which can enhance the overall security of the system. By isolating workloads within this framework, MWA ensures that different applications and services can operate independently, reducing the risk of cross-contamination. Additionally, this architecture supports multi-region deployments, allowing organizations to efficiently manage their resources across different geographical locations while maintaining robust security measures.

#4. Cloud-Native Architecture with Azure Integration

The MWA pattern fully embraces cloud-native architectures by leveraging Azure services like Azure App Services, Azure Container Apps, and Azure Service Bus. This results in the development of scalable, resilient, and cloud-optimized applications that can handle varying demands.

#5. Independent Scaling Using Azure Container Apps

By utilizing Azure Container Apps, the MWA pattern allows critical components to scale independently based on demand. This optimizes resource usage, ensures cost efficiency, and boosts application performance in the cloud.

How Does it Transform Cloud App Development?

The MWA pattern transforms cloud app development by embracing cloud-native architectures and leveraging powerful Azure services. By utilizing Azure App Services, Azure Container Apps, Azure Container Registry, Azure Service Bus, and Azure Monitor, MWA helps developers build resilient, independently scalable applications that can efficiently handle traffic spikes and failure scenarios.

Independent scaling is a key feature of Azure Container Apps, which helps optimize resource allocation and lower operational costs. Additionally, the MWA pattern utilizes a hub-and-spoke architecture, enhancing security and high availability by isolating workloads and strengthening security measures. Thus, it also supports multi-region deployment, aiming to achieve a 99.9% service level objective, thereby ensuring high availability and reliability for global applications.

How to Implement Modern Web App Pattern?

When it comes to implementing the modern web app pattern, you will need to perform the following 3 steps:

• Architectural Guidance 
• Code Guidance 
• Configuration Guidance

Let’s first discuss the architectural guidance in detail! 

1. Architectural Guidance 

There is no denying that modern web app pattern is designed on the reliable web app pattern which needs a few additional architectural components for its implementation. For that, you may need a message queue, container platform, decoupled service, and container register. 

To achieve a higher service-level objective (SLO) for your web application, consider enhancing your architecture by incorporating a second geographic region. This additional region necessitates the configuration of your load balancer to effectively route incoming traffic to both locations, allowing for either an active-active setup, where both regions handle traffic simultaneously, or an active-passive configuration, where one region serves as a backup to the other.

To streamline resource management and improve network efficiency, implement a hub-and-spoke network topology. This design helps centralize essential resources, such as a network firewall, making it easier to manage security protocols and connectivity. Furthermore, ensure that your container repository is accessible through the hub virtual network, facilitating seamless integration and resource sharing across the infrastructure.

{Also Read: Mobile App Architecture – How to Design and Build App in 2024?}

2. Code Guidance 

If you want to decouple and extract an independent service then you need to update your web app code using the following design patterns:

• The Strangler Fig Pattern 
• Queue-Based Load Levelling Pattern 
• Competing Consumer’s Pattern 
• Retry Pattern 

Remember that each design pattern provides benefits that align with one or more pillars of the well-architecture framework. 

3. Configuration Guidance 

If you want to configure authentication and authorizations on any new Azure services, you may need to follow these recommendations. 

Make sure you use managed identities for each new service for complete authentication. Keep in mind that these identities may eliminate the need to manage credentials in your code and reduce the risk of credential leakage. Furthermore, they help you avoid incorporating any confidential information in your code. 

After completing the necessary tasks, you should proceed to deploy the reference implementation of the Modern Web App Pattern specifically designed for .NET applications. In the repository, you will find detailed instructions outlining the steps for both development and production deployment. These guidelines will help you effectively set up and launch your application in various environments.

Conclusion 

So, there you have it! That’s a wrap to Microsoft’s modern web app pattern for.NET!  The modern web app pattern explains how to make money from web apps in the cloud and use a service-oriented architecture. It also provides clear guidance on architecture, code, and configuration. This guidance follows a well-architected framework and is based on a reliable web app platform.

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