Book Image

Hands-On Network Programming with C# and .NET Core

By : Sean Burns
Book Image

Hands-On Network Programming with C# and .NET Core

By: Sean Burns

Overview of this book

The C# language and the .NET Core application framework provide the tools and patterns required to make the discipline of network programming as intuitive and enjoyable as any other aspect of C# programming. With the help of this book, you will discover how the C# language and the .NET Core framework make this possible. The book begins by introducing the core concepts of network programming, and what distinguishes this field of programming from other disciplines. After this, you will gain insights into concepts such as transport protocols, sockets and ports, and remote data streams, which will provide you with a holistic understanding of how network software fits into larger distributed systems. The book will also explore the intricacies of how network software is implemented in a more explicit context, by covering sockets, connection strategies such as Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP), asynchronous processing, and threads. You will then be able to work through code examples for TCP servers, web APIs served over HTTP, and a Secure Shell (SSH) client. By the end of this book, you will have a good understanding of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) network stack, the various communication protocols for that stack, and the skills that are essential to implement those protocols using the C# programming language and the .NET Core framework.

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Hands-On Network Programming with C# and .NET Core
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Mar, 2019 | 488 pages
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Table of Contents (26 chapters)
Preface
Preface
Who this book is for
What this book covers
To get the most out of this book
Get in touch
Free Chapter
1
Section 1: Foundations of Network Architecture
Section 1: Foundations of Network Architecture
2
Networks in a Nutshell
Networks in a Nutshell
Technical requirements
Expanding the scope of software – distributed systems and the challenges they introduce
Topologies and physical infrastructure
The software impact of distributing resources on a network
Network objects and data structures in .NET Core
A whole new computing world
Summary
Questions
Further reading
3
DNS and Resource Location
DNS and Resource Location
Technical requirements
Needles in a haystack – data on the internet
URLs, domain names, and device addresses
The DNS in C#
Summary
Questions
Further reading
4
Communication Protocols
Communication Protocols
Technical requirements
The Open Systems Interconnection network stack
The application layer
The Transport layer
Summary
Questions
Further reading
5
Packets and Streams
Packets and Streams
Technical requirements
Leveraging networks – transmitting packets for use by remote resources
The anatomy of a packet
Streams and serialization – understanding sequential data transmission
Summary
Questions
Further reading
6
Section 2: Communicating Over Networks
Section 2: Communicating Over Networks
7
Generating Network Requests in C#
Generating Network Requests in C#
Technical requirements
One class to rule them all – the WebRequest abstract class
The sub-classes of the WebRequest class
Summary
Questions
Further reading
8
Streams, Threads, and Asynchronous Data
Streams, Threads, and Asynchronous Data
Technical requirements
Going with the flow – data streams in C#
The right stream for the job
Picking up the pace – multithreading data processing
Asynchronous programming for asynchronous data sources
Summary
Questions
Further reading
9
Error Handling over the Wire
Error Handling over the Wire
Technical requirements
Multiple devices, multiple points of failure
Status codes and error messages
Error-handling strategies
Summary
Questions
Further reading
10
Section 3: Application Protocols and Connection Handling
Section 3: Application Protocols and Connection Handling
11
Sockets and Ports
Sockets and Ports
Technical requirements
Sockets versus ports
Leveraging sockets in C#
Summary
Questions
Further reading
12
HTTP in .NET
HTTP in .NET
Technical requirements
Cracking open HTTP
The many methods of HTTP
HTTP request formatting
HTTPS – security over HTTP
HTTP/2
Summary
Questions
Further reading
13
FTP and SMTP
FTP and SMTP
Technical requirements
File transfer over the web
Securing FTP requests
SMTP and MIME
Summary
Questions
Further reading
14
The Transport Layer - TCP and UDP
The Transport Layer - TCP and UDP
Technical requirements
The transport layer
Connection-based and connectionless communication
TCP in C#
UDP in C#
Multicasting packets
Summary
Questions
Further reading
15
Section 4: Security, Stability, and Scalability
Section 4: Security, Stability, and Scalability
16
The Internet Protocol
The Internet Protocol
Technical requirements
The IP standard
IPv4 and its limits
IPv6 – the future of the protocol
Leveraging IP in C#
Summary
Questions
Further reading
17
Transport Layer Security
Transport Layer Security
Technical requirements
Private connections and SSL
TLS as the new standard
Configuring TLS in .NET Core
Summary
Questions
Further reading
18
Authentication and Authorization on Networks
Authentication and Authorization on Networks
Technical requirements
The authorization header
Authorization tokens
Authorization in .NET Core
Summary
Questions
Further reading
19
Caching Strategies for Distributed Systems
Caching Strategies for Distributed Systems
Technical requirements
Why cache at all?
Distributed caching systems
Working with caches in code
Cache providers
Summary
Questions
Further reading
20
Performance Analysis and Monitoring
Performance Analysis and Monitoring
Technical requirements
Network performance analysis
Performance monitoring
Performance and health monitoring in C#
Summary
Questions
Further reading
21
Section 5: Advanced Subjects
Section 5: Advanced Subjects
22
Pluggable Protocols in .NET Core
Pluggable Protocols in .NET Core
Technical requirements
Understanding pluggable protocols
Building our custom subclasses
Leveraging a custom protocol
Summary
Questions
Further reading
23
Network Analysis and Packet Inspection
Network Analysis and Packet Inspection
Technical requirements
Network resources and topography
Network analysis
Additional tools and analysis
Summary
Questions
Further reading
24
Remote Logins and SSH
Remote Logins and SSH
Technical requirements
What is SSH?
Establishing SSH connections
Remote execution with SSH
Summary
Questions
Further reading
25
Other Books You May Enjoy
Other Books You May Enjoy
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Further reading

For more information about HTTP in .NET Core, or using ASP.NET Core, you have a wealth of resources at your disposal. Particularly, I'd recommend Hands-On Full-Stack Web Development with ASP.NET Core, by Tamir Dresher, Amir Zuker, and Shay Friedman, available through Packt Publishing here: https://www.packtpub.com/web-development/hands-full-stack-web-development-aspnet-core.

If you want to take a deeper dive into the patterns and principles that informed the developers of ASP.NET Core, I'd recommend reading ASP.NET Core 2 Fundamentals, by Onur Gumus and Mugilan T S Ragupathi. It's also available from Packt, and you can find it here: https://www.packtpub.com/web-development/aspnet-core-2-fundamentals.

If you're more interested in the fundamentals of the MVC design pattern, and how ASP.NET Core uses it to provide clean architectural templates...

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