2 topics: Free SSL with Let's Encrypt & Logging and Metrics in dotnet core

Free SSL with Let's Encrypt, on Windows Server / IIS.

Modern browsers are now warning people about insecure websites, and Google may soon treat insecure listings in a negative way in Search Engine Results. This isn't just a Google thing, by-default Apple now blocks Apps from communicating by non-encrypted means.
Up until recently the process of securing websites has been a costly, manual, and often painful process, but in this session Mike Irving will demonstrate Let's Encrypt - a free, automated and open Certificate Authority; he will talk us through the SSL Certificate Process, explain how Let's Encrypt works, discuss the options for Windows users, and then perform a live demo, securing an IIS website on an Azure Virtual Machine in a matter of seconds!
Mike Irving is a freelance software developer from Macclesfield, with expertise in a wide variety of technologies, including C# and Mobile Apps.

Logging and Metrics in dotnet core

Logging and Metrics are often seen as the unsexy end of software development, until your app crashes and burns and the boss's boss's boss appears in the office.
In this session Martin will cover the difference between Metrics and Logs, and look at where one is useful over the other.
We’ll look at some of the things Microsoft has done in dotnet core to make logging easier, and some of the third-party libraries and tools that aim to make it easier to navigate.
With full framework .NET, you got performance counters, and lots of built in things that allowed you to get some rich data with very little effort, but with dotnet core, we have to be a lot more deliberate and specific about what we want to monitor. So we’ll cover tools like Serilog and Log4Net, along with AppMetrics.io for capturing application information. We’ll then take a quick look at grafana, and see how we can make some sense of that information.
Martin is the Lead Engineer and MAG-O, the Online arm of Manchester Airport Group. He runs the engineering function, delivering applications that serve over 25 million users a year. Avid follower of open source, and clean coding principles, with a passion for dashboarding and data visualisation. Pushing DevOps (as a culture, not a role) wherever he goes.

Location

This meeting is at AutoTrader; they are in the office block in the square opposite HOME theatre on the corner of Whitworth Street West and Medlock Street. It's roughly halfway between Oxford Road and Deansgate railway stations and is a short walk from Deansgate-Castlefield tram stop. The building has a Pizza Express restaurant outside.

There will be someone in the foyer who will sign you in and then tell you how to find the venue.

If you have any special dietary requirements please let us know via the group message forum. (https://secure.meetup.com/messages/)

If you would need assistance to leave the building in the event of an evacuation then please let us know via the group message forum. (https://secure.meetup.com/messages/)

Note for recruitment professionals - we don't exclude recruiters from our meetings but we would ask you to contact Rick Garner for a brief chat before you start attending.

Schedule
Doors open from 18:00

Intro and welcome 18:40

Speaker 18:50 (with a break for pizza at some point )

Close ~21:00 (Don't feel bad if you have to leave early for a train/bus/lift home - no one will be offended)

We then adjourn to a local bar for a drink and a natter - everyone is welcome to join us!