Design, Development, and Testing of Microservices Architecture Using ASP.NET Core

The shift from monolithic applications to microservices architecture has become a cornerstone of modern software engineering, offering unprecedented scalability, resilience, and deployment flexibility. This research paper explores the comprehensive lifecycle—design, development, and testing—of a microservices-based system utilizing the ASP.NET Core framework. By applying Domain-Driven Design (DDD) principles, we architect a decentralized system utilizing API Gateways, event-driven communication, and database-per-service patterns. The paper further details the practical development phase, addressing challenges in inter-service communication and security. Finally, a multi-tiered testing strategy encompassing unit, integration, contract, and load testing is proposed and evaluated. The findings demonstrate how ASP.NET Core's lightweight, cross-platform capabilities significantly streamline the creation and maintenance of robust, enterprise-grade distributed systems.