Simplify Oracle .NET Cloud Deployments with Centralized Configuration Providers

Cloud apps are everywhere, often running on multiple hyperscalers. This multicloud reality means more secrets to manage, more configuration to juggle, and more risk of things breaking. Each cloud handles secrets, app settings, and notification updates its own way — so developers end up writing extra code, chasing new bugs, and struggling with app integration. Testing drags on, and every provider switch introduces fresh incompatibilities.

Oracle AI Database clients cut through this complexity with centralized configuration providers. Instead of different connection setups for each cloud, you use one method that works on every hyperscaler. Centralized configuration simplifies secrets management and client setup, especially for evolving architectures like microservices and serverless apps.

ODP.NET offers cloud configuration providers for .NET apps — with new support for Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud Platform.

ODP.NET Centralized Configuration Providers

Managed ODP.NET and ODP.NET Core securely manage application configuration data across all major clouds and on-premises. With these providers, you can:

• Store and retrieve connection details — like connect descriptors and tuning parameters — in cloud storage.
• Manage sensitive data, such as passwords and wallets, in a cloud vault or secrets manager.
• Cache and auto-update connection information using each cloud’s notification system, so your apps stay current and responsive even when credentials change.

Now, let’s look at each centralized configuration provider.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

This provider saves database connection details in AWS Simple Storage Service (S3) and AWS Secrets Manager, then keeps your app updated using AWS Simple Notification Service (SNS) and Simple Queue Service (SQS). You can start using it with the [Oracle.ManagedDataAccess.Aws](https://www.nuget.org/packages/Oracle.ManagedDataAccess.Aws) NuGet package, beginning in the recently released ODP.NET 23.26.1.

Google Cloud Platform (GCP)

This provider holds connection information in GCP Cloud Storage and GCP Secret Manager with change notifications using GCP Pub/Sub. It is available in the [Oracle.ManagedDataAccess.Gcp](https://www.nuget.org/packages/Oracle.ManagedDataAccess.Gcp) NuGet package, also recently introduced with ODP.NET 23.26.1.

Microsoft Azure

The [Oracle.ManagedDataAccess.Azure](https://www.nuget.org/packages/Oracle.ManagedDataAccess.Azure) NuGet package stores connection details in Azure App Configuration and Azure Key Vault, and keeps your app current with change notifications via Azure Event Grid and Azure Service Bus.

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI)

The [Oracle.ManagedDataAccess.Oci](https://www.nuget.org/packages/Oracle.ManagedDataAccess.Oci) NuGet package stores connection information in OCI Object Storage and OCI Vault, while keeping your app updated with notifications from OCI Events Service and Notifications.

Local File System

Use the [Oracle.ManagedDataAccess.ConfigFile](https://www.nuget.org/packages/Oracle.ManagedDataAccess.ConfigFile) NuGet package for on-premises and Infrastructure as a Service deployments. It stores connection details on the local file system.

I covered the Azure, OCI, and file config providers in a previous blog post about the ODP.NET 23ai launch. For this post, I will explore the new AWS and GCP providers.

ODP.NET AWS Centralized Configuration Provider

The ODP.NET AWS centralized configuration provider uses a JSON file to store connection details in AWS S3. Like other ODP.NET providers, it locates configurations using connection string URLs, which in this case can point to S3 or Secrets Manager endpoints.

Set this URL on the OracleConnection.ConnectionString property — replacing the traditional ADO.NET connection string. The URL encodes the provider type, configuration storage, and connection parameters. Standard attributes, like User Id and Max Pool Size, are stored in the cloud.

Every hyperscaler, including AWS, offers a cloud vault for secret storage. ODP.NET supports using AWS Secrets Manager to store tokens, wallets, passwords, and related secrets for your Oracle .NET apps.

The AWS provider uses this connection URL syntax:

config-awss3://{AWS S3 URI or URL}[?key=name&option1=value1&option2=value2…]

Here, config-awss3 specifies the AWS S3 location. The following section is the URI, URL, or Amazon Resource Name (ARN) of your AWS JSON config file. You can add optional keys and options to define connection names and set authentication, configuration, and change notification settings.

Here’s a sample ODP.NET AWS S3 connection string URL to open a connection:

OracleConnection con = new OracleConnection("config-awss3://odpnet-config/directory/jsconfig.json?key=connection1&aws_region=us-west-1");
con.Open();

The connection string URL points to a provider JSON file, where you can define ODP.NET connection settings. The following example shows how to specify AWS Secrets Manager URLs for the password and wallet location with the config-awssecretsmanager protocol.

ODP.NET GCP Centralized Configuration Provider

The ODP.NET GCP centralized configuration provider uses a connection string URL — just like the AWS provider — with a similar syntax. This URL points to a JSON configuration file in GCP Cloud Storage that holds your database connection information.

The syntax:

config-gcpstorage://project={project-name};bucket={bucket-name};object={object-name}[?key={connectionKey}&option1=value1…]

Authentication is managed with GCP Application Default Credentials, so you don’t need to add authentication parameters.

Here’s an example code snippet to open a connection with the ODP.NET GCP provider:

string projectId = "dotnet-1";
string bucketName = "odpnet-sample";
string objectName = "hr.json";
OracleConnection conn = new OracleConnection($"config-gcpstorage://project={projectId};bucket={bucketName};object={objectName}?key=Connection1&subscriptionname=projects/dotnet-1/subscriptions/dotnet-sub");
conn.Open();

For secrets, use the config-gcpsecretmanager protocol to retrieve sensitive information stored in GCP Secret Manager.

Demonstration

I recently introduced the AWS and GCP centralized configuration providers at Oracle .NET Office Hours, featuring live demos of both connecting to Oracle Autonomous AI Database. If you missed it, here’s the video:

[embed]

Next Steps

If you are deploying ODP.NET apps to a hyperscaler, or even on-premises, try these providers. They simplify connection management wherever you run.

For more details, see the ODP.NET Centralized Configuration Providers for Deployments documentation.