Deploying .NET Application on Bluemix, connecting

Question

I have an application built on .NET Framework using MVC 5 and SQL Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Edition which I want to deploy on Bluemix.

1. Does Bluemix Support .NET. If I deploy my .NET application on Bluemix, would it work?
2. I have Virtual Servers hosting the application and data for my Application on a separate hosting provider. If I deploy some components of my application (built on Bluemix supported technologies such as Java/ php/ node.js/ DB2) on Bluemix, will I still be able to communicate with my database etc. deployed outside of the Bluemix (and on a different hosting provider).
3. If I deploy my application on Bluemix, will I need to necessarily consume Watson APIs? Does my deployment on Bluemix necessarily have to do anything with Watson or Watson Services? Can I deploy my application without consuming Watson APIs?

Many Thanks!!

Answer 1

1) Bluemix currently does not have .NET support. Stay tuned.

2) You can connect to any external service.

3) You don't have to use Watson services.

Answer 2

Question #2 is an issue completely separate from .NET support in Bluemix. It concerns how applications running in Bluemix can connect to existing systems hosted outside of the Bluemix data centers.

Like any web-based application, your application running in Bluemix can always connect to other applications using web services such as REST and SOAP. It can also use queued approaches such as JMS and MQ. This requires network connectivity between the data centers, which means the private applications need to be accessible from the Internet.

To help with making applications accessible, Bluemix has a service called Secure Gateway. It creates a secured connection (authorized, encrypted) between your space in Bluemix and your data center that you can use to connect to applications/systems in your data center.

To help with making external data accessible, Bluemix has a service called DataWorks. It uses a database connection (such as Secure Gateway) to represent the available data in customized forms to simplify the application. The customization can include merging data from multiple sources, converting its format, caching it on the cloud tier, etc.

Answer 3

You can check to see if the cloud foundry .Net mono buildpack serves your requirement, https://github.com/cloudfoundry-community/.net-buildpack This buildpack is supported on bluemix. For a full fledged .Net support stay tuned as Ram put it.

On 2, yes you would be able to connect to database on another hosting provider, as long as you have the cloud IP and port to work with the database, and provided it can be reached over the internet. If the database is on private cloud then you can leverage the Secure Gateway service on bluemix to securely connect to the database.

On 3, As with all the services on bluemix, Watson services also are optional for consumption, you can choose to consume the Watson services if your application needs the capabilities of Watson services. To deploy your application on bluemix it is not mandatory for you to consume any services, however for your application to be functional you may want to bind it to relevant services required by the application.

Answer 4

1) Bluemix will run any buildpack that is Cloud Foundry friendly (.NET included), although it is not supported (currently) so any issues you have will have to be self-diagnosed and fixed. When creating your application, choose the 'Community Buildpack' option.

Here are some ready to go buildpacks for .NET:

• Cloud Foundry buildpack for running .NET applications
• Iron Foundry

2) You can connect to external services through their API, but we cannot offer support for issues with external services.

3) Watson services are optional and not required for using Bluemix.

Hope this helps!

Answer 5

Update: Bluemix now includes a runtime for ASP.NET 5. In the Dashboard, it appears in the list when you create a web app, and appears in the catalog in the list of runtimes (currently on the Labs page).

For more info:

• Docs: Creating apps with ASP.NET 5
• Announcement: We’ve Introduced .NET in Bluemix and Open Sourced the Buildpack
• Tutorial: Getting started with ASP.NET 5 in Bluemix

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More information for question #1: To be clear, although there is not yet formal support for .NET on Bluemix, Microsoft and IBM have announced their intentions to do so. From IBM and Microsoft to Offer Greater Choice in the Hybrid Cloud:

IBM and Microsoft are working together to deliver a Microsoft .NET runtime for IBM’s Bluemix cloud development platform.

As Ram said: Stay tuned!

Answer 6

2. and 3. were already answered.

But let me chime in on 1.

What is available at this moment is the mono community buildpack which currently supports Mono 3.4.0, the one Ben Rondeau linked you too.

The other options are to utilize the VM or container deployment. You can always -for example - grab the Microsoft ASP.net docker container
Or just set up a VM to your liking. However keep in mind that the VMs are openstack based, and therefore it's most likely come down to mono as well.