Deploy an ASP.NET container to a container registry using Visual Studio

Docker is a lightweight container engine, similar in some ways to a virtual machine, which you can use to host applications and services. This tutorial walks you through using Visual Studio to publish your containerized application to an Azure Container Registry.

If you don't have an Azure subscription, create a free account before you begin.

Prerequisites

To complete this tutorial:

Create an ASP.NET Core web app

The following steps guide you through creating a basic ASP.NET Core app that will be used in this tutorial. If you already have a project, you can skip this section.

  1. In the Visual Studio start window, select Create a new project.

  2. Select ASP.NET Core Web App, and then select Next.

  3. Enter a name for your new application (or use the default name), specify the location on disk, and then select Next.

  4. Choose the .NET version you want to target. If you don't know, choose the LTS (long-term support) release.

    Create a web project - Additional information screen

  5. Choose whether you want SSL support by selecting or clearing the Configure for HTTPS check box.

  6. Select the Enable Docker Support check box.

  7. Select the type of container you want (Windows or Linux), and then select Create.

  1. In the Visual Studio start window, select Create a new project.

  2. Select ASP.NET Core Web App, and then select Next.

  3. Enter a name for your new application (or use the default name), specify the location on disk, and then select Next.

  4. Choose the .NET version you want to target. If you don't know, choose the LTS (long-term support) release.

    Create a web project - Additional information screen

  5. Choose whether you want SSL support by selecting or clearing the Configure for HTTPS check box.

  6. Select the Enable Docker check box.

  7. In the Docker OS textbox, select the type of container you want (Windows or Linux), and then select Create.

Publish your container to Azure Container Registry

  1. Right-click your project in Solution Explorer and choose Publish.

  2. On the Publish dialog, select Docker Container Registry.

    Screenshot of Publish dialog - choose Docker Container Registry.

  3. Choose Create New Azure Container Registry.

    Screenshot of Publish dialog - choose Create New Azure Container Registry.

  4. Fill in your desired values in the Azure Container Registry screen.

    Setting Suggested value Description
    DNS Prefix Globally unique name Name that uniquely identifies your container registry.
    Subscription Choose your subscription The Azure subscription to use.
    Resource Group myResourceGroup Name of the resource group in which to create your container registry. Choose New to create a new resource group.
    SKU Standard Service tier of the container registry
    Registry Location A location close to you Choose a Location in a region near you or near other services that will use your container registry.

    Screenshot of Visual Studio's create Azure Container Registry dialog.

  5. Click Create.

  6. Choose Finish to complete the process.

Publish your container to Azure Container Registry

  1. Right-click your project in Solution Explorer and choose Publish.

  2. On the Publish dialog, select Docker Container Registry.

    Screenshot of Publish dialog - choose Docker Container Registry.

  3. Choose Create New Azure Container Registry.

    Screenshot of Publish dialog - choose Create New Azure Container Registry.

  4. Fill in your desired values in the Azure Container Registry screen.

    Setting Suggested value Description
    DNS Prefix Globally unique name Name that uniquely identifies your container registry.
    Subscription Choose your subscription The Azure subscription to use.
    Resource Group myResourceGroup Name of the resource group in which to create your container registry. Choose New to create a new resource group.
    SKU Standard Service tier of the container registry
    Registry Location A location close to you Choose a Location in a region near you or near other services that will use your container registry.

    Screenshot of Visual Studio's create Azure Container Registry dialog.

  5. Click Create.

  6. Choose Finish to complete the process.

You can now pull the container from the registry to any host capable of running Docker images, for example Azure Container Instances.

Quickstart: Deploy a container instance in Azure using the Azure CLI