Urgent Alert for .NET Developers: Time to Update Your Installer Links Now!

In a significant announcement that has sent shockwaves through the .NET development community, Microsoft is urging developers to immediately update their application dependencies and development pipelines. This is due to the upcoming unavailability of specific domains used for .NET component installations as a result of the bankruptcy and impending shutdown of CDN provider Edgio.

The critical domains "dotnetcli.azureedge.net" and "dotnetbuilds.azureedge.net" will be deactivated in the coming months, posing serious risks of functionality failures for projects dependent on these URLs. A vast array of developers, including those utilizing .NET installers from the affected domains, organizations employing GitHub Actions or Azure DevOps with custom pipelines, Docker users, and any scripts referencing these domains, are all at risk.

Microsoft has stated, "We maintain multiple Content Delivery Network (CDN) instances for delivering .NET builds. Some end with azureedge.net. These domains are hosted by Edgio, which will soon cease operations due to bankruptcy. We are required to migrate to a new CDN and will be using new domains going forward."

This impending change means developers must proactively search their codebases, scripts, and configurations for any references to azureedge.net and dotnetcli.blob.core.windows.net. They must replace these with the new destination, builds.dotnet.microsoft.com. As a precaution, during the transition period, multiple CDN services like Edgio, Akamai, and Azure Front Door will support Microsoft’s new domains.

In addition to this, CI/CD teams are under pressure to ensure that GitHub Actions (actions/setup-dotnet) and Azure DevOps tasks utilize the latest versions that accommodate the new domains. Moreover, updates for Azure DevOps Server are anticipated in early 2025.

However, with the timing of these updates coinciding with the holiday season—a time when many IT teams operate with reduced staff—Microsoft acknowledges the difficulty this presents for developers. Even with auto-updating configurations, IT departments must adjust firewall settings to allow traffic from the new URLs, builds.dotnet.microsoft.com, and ci.dot.net.

When questioned about the inability to simply transfer the domains and continue usage under the existing infrastructure, Rich Lander, the Program Manager of .NET at Microsoft, stated that it was not an option. This has raised eyebrows, especially since Scott Hanselman from Microsoft had previously confirmed ownership of these domains, promising that “no other party will ever have access to use these domains.”

While this ownership reduces the risks of a supply chain compromise for those who migrate, the urgency for developers to act immediately remains pivotal given the potential operational disruptions.

For those affected, staying up-to-date on the issue is crucial. You can track the latest status updates via a dedicated GitHub page focused on this .NET domain migration.

As the clock ticks down and the deadline looms, it's clear that the future of many development projects hangs in the balance. Act now before it's too late!