Modernizing a Legacy .NET App with GitHub Copilot
Priyanka Vergadia hosts Krystal Folkes for an end-to-end walkthrough of modernizing a real-world legacy ASP.NET Web Forms app using GitHub Copilot. They cover planning with Copilot plan mode and agents, security baselining and findings review, SQL Server-to-PostgreSQL migration, architecture visualization, and deployment planning to containers and Kubernetes.
Overview
This episode of Sip & Sync with Azure demonstrates an end-to-end modernization journey for a legacy .NET application, using GitHub Copilot and Azure app modernization tooling.
What the session covers
Starting point: a legacy ASP.NET Web Forms app
- Uses a real-world ASP.NET Web Forms application as the modernization target.
- Calls out common legacy challenges, including SQL stored procedures and older dependency stacks.
Planning modernization with GitHub Copilot
- Uses GitHub Copilot plan mode to break down a complex modernization effort.
- Demonstrates Copilot agents and how they can be used to:
- Create a modernization and migration plan
- Run a “one-prompt” modernization workflow
- Support dependency and package migration planning
Assessment, architecture insights, and visualization
- Reviews assessment outputs and architecture insights.
- Visualizes architecture changes using diagrams and assessment-driven views.
Security baselining and findings review
- Performs a security baseline before and during modernization.
- Reviews security findings and vulnerability analysis as part of the workflow.
Database migration: SQL Server to PostgreSQL
- Walks through a database migration path from SQL Server to PostgreSQL as part of the modernization effort.
Modernizing deployment: containers and Kubernetes
- Covers moving from a monolith toward containerized deployments.
- Uses Kubernetes as the target deployment environment.
- Discusses deployment planning with AppCAT.
- Emphasizes execution with human review gates.
Timeline (from the video description)
- 00:00 – Welcome to Sip & Sync with Azure
- 00:10 – Modernizing .NET Apps with GitHub Copilot
- 00:17 – Introducing Krystal Folkes
- 00:42 – Legacy App Overview and Modernization Goals
- 01:32 – Challenges with Legacy .NET and SQL Stored Procedures
- 02:12 – Planning App Modernization with Copilot Plan Mode
- 03:36 – Copilot Agents, Skills, and Modernization Workflow
- 04:30 – Legacy Assessment and Security Baseline
- 05:13 – Creating a Modernization and Migration Plan
- 06:24 – Running the One-Prompt Modernization Agent
- 07:20 – Reviewing Assessments and Architecture Insights
- 08:34 – Security Findings and Vulnerability Analysis
- 09:05 – Package Migration and Dependency Planning
- 09:42 – Database Migration: SQL Server to PostgreSQL
- 10:20 – Customizing Modernization by Team and Scenario
- 11:15 – Visualizing Architecture with Diagrams
- 12:01 – From Monolith to Microservices with Containers
- 13:04 – Deployment Planning with AppCAT and Kubernetes
- 14:00 – One-Click Execution and Human Review Gates
- 14:30 – Wrap-Up, Resources, and Where to Learn More
Links and resources
- App Modernization Lab — .NET and Java: https://github.com/kfolkes/legacy-app-modernization-db-transform/tree/main
- GitHub Copilot modernization documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/developer/github-copilot-app-modernization/
- Try Azure for free: https://aka.ms/AzureFreeTrialYT
- Sip N’ Sync with Azure playlist: https://aka.ms/SipAndSyncPlaylist