Deploying a Sample Application to Service Fabric

Deploying a Sample Application to Service Fabric

Now that your cluster is running and you understand how to monitor it, it’s time to deploy a real application to Service Fabric! In this tutorial, we'll deploy a simple sample app to your local or Azure-hosted cluster.

🛠️ What We'll Cover

• Create a sample Service Fabric application in Visual Studio.
• Package and deploy it to a local or Azure cluster.
• Monitor the app through Service Fabric Explorer.

🚀 Step-by-Step Deployment Guide

Step 1: Create a New Service Fabric Application

1. Open Visual Studio (as Administrator is preferred).
2. Go to File → New → Project.
3. Search for "Service Fabric Application" and select it.
4. Click Next.
5. Name your project (e.g., SampleAppFabric).
6. Choose the location and solution name.
7. Click Create.

Step 2: Choose Application Template

Visual Studio will now prompt you to choose a service type:

• Select Stateless ASP.NET Core Web API for this example.
• Click OK.

Step 3: Review Solution Structure

Visual Studio will generate:

• Application Project (.sfproj)
• Service Project (ASP.NET Core Web API project)
• ApplicationManifest.xml and ServiceManifest.xml for packaging and deployment.

Step 4: Package the Application

Visual Studio handles packaging automatically when you build the application. If you want to manually package, right-click the application project and select:
Publish → Create Package Only

Step 5: Deploy to Cluster

• Right-click the Application project (the one with .sfproj).
• Click Publish.
• In the Publish wizard:
  • Select Local Cluster or Azure Cluster.
  • If targeting Azure, make sure cluster certificate and credentials are handled properly.
• Click Publish.

Step 6: Monitor Deployment

Once published, open Service Fabric Explorer:

• You will see the application under the Applications section.
• Expand it to see deployed services, partitions, and instances.

Step 7: Test Your Web API

If you deployed a Web API service:

• Right-click the running service instance → Get HTTP endpoint details.
• Open the URL in a browser — you should see your API live!

📈 Visual Flow

[Create Project] → [Choose Template] → [Package App] → [Publish to Cluster] → [Monitor via Explorer] → [Test App Endpoint]
    

💡 Did You Know?

⚡ Common Beginner Issues and Solutions

• Problem: Deployment failed due to certificate errors.
  Solution: For local cluster, ensure no certificates needed. For Azure, configure security settings properly.
• Problem: Service stuck in 'Upgrading'.
  Solution: Reset the application upgrade from Service Fabric Explorer or PowerShell.
• Problem: Service keeps restarting.
  Solution: Check logs and exceptions inside the deployed service — use Event Viewer or Application Insights integration.

🚨 Important Best Practices

• Always build and test your application locally first before publishing to Azure.
• Use meaningful names for services and applications for easy identification.
• Monitor deployed applications regularly to catch failures early.

✅ Final Deployment Checklist

• Sample application created ✔️
• Successfully deployed to local or Azure cluster ✔️
• Service visible and healthy in Service Fabric Explorer ✔️
• Web API endpoint working ✔️

✅ Self-Check Quiz

• Which project type should you select to create a Stateless Web API?
• What must you verify before publishing to an Azure cluster?
• Where can you find service instances and partitions after deployment?