Migrating ASP.NET to Cosmos DB with GitHub Copilot (Cosmos DB Conf 2026)

Sergiy Smyrnov demonstrates a practical, prompt-driven migration from a relational database to Azure Cosmos DB for NoSQL, using an older ASP.NET + EF Core app and the AdventureWorks sample database. The session focuses on the real decisions that make RDBMS-to-Cosmos migrations hard, and how GitHub Copilot-style agent workflows can help.

Full summary based on transcript

What the session covers

• Migrating an existing relational schema (AdventureWorks) to Azure Cosmos DB for NoSQL.
• Converting an older ASP.NET + Entity Framework Core application to run as a .NET 9 app backed by Cosmos DB.
• Using an AI agent workflow to:
  • Analyze the relational schema
  • Propose a migration plan
  • Provision Cosmos DB infrastructure
  • Rewrite the application data layer to use the Cosmos DB SDK
  • Migrate data

Key migration decisions highlighted

• Denormalization tradeoffs: deciding what to embed vs. reference in a document model.
• Partition key selection: choosing a partition key that supports scale and query patterns.
• Embedded vs. referenced data: modeling relationships from the relational world in a NoSQL/document approach.
• Application code conversion: updating the data access layer from EF Core/RDBMS patterns to Cosmos DB SDK patterns.

What you should take away

• A reusable, prompt-by-prompt playbook for approaching RDBMS-to-Cosmos DB migrations.
• An overview of how Cosmos DB Agent Kit “AI skills” can be applied to migration planning, infrastructure setup, and code changes.

Links and references

• Cosmos DB Conf 2026 playlist: https://aka.ms/CosmosConf26Playlist
• Cosmos Conf Challenge (DP-420 voucher details): https://aka.ms/CosmosDBConfChallenge
• Post-event survey: https://aka.ms/CosmosConf2026Survey
• Conference site: https://aka.ms/azurecosmosdbconf
• Sergiy Smyrnov (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/in/sergiy-smyrnov
• Speaker page: https://developer.azurecosmosdb.com/conf/#speaker/sergiy-smyrnov