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🧱 Architecture (Windows)

Browser
   ↓
Pulse.Web (ASP.NET / Blazor / Razor)
   ↓ HTTP(S)
Pulse.API (ASP.NET Core)
   ↓ EF Core
MySQL Server

You can run this with IIS or standalone using Kestrel. I’ll show both, but IIS is the most “Windows-native”.

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1️⃣ Prerequisites (Install First)

✅ Windows Requirements

• Windows 10 / 11 / Server 2019 / 2022
• Admin access

✅ .NET Runtime (REQUIRED)

Pulse does not need the SDK in production — only the runtime.

Install:

• .NET 8 or 9 ASP.NET Core Hosting Bundle

👉 https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download

This installs:

• ASP.NET runtime
• IIS integration
• dotnet.exe runtime

Verify:

dotnet --list-runtimes

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2️⃣ Install MySQL Server (Windows)

Step 1: Download

👉 https://dev.mysql.com/downloads/installer/

Choose:

• MySQL Installer (Community)

Step 2: Install Options

Select:

• MySQL Server
• MySQL Workbench
• MySQL Shell (optional)

Step 3: Configuration

• Auth method: Use Legacy Authentication (recommended for EF Core)
• Port: 3306
• Root password: SAVE THIS
• Service Name: MySQL80
• Startup: Automatic

Verify:

services.msc

Confirm MySQL80 is running.

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3️⃣ Create Pulse Database

Open MySQL Workbench → connect as root.

CREATE DATABASE pulse
  CHARACTER SET utf8mb4
  COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;

CREATE USER 'pulse'@'localhost'
IDENTIFIED BY 'StrongPasswordHere';

GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON pulse.* TO 'pulse'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

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4️⃣ Pulse.API Setup (Windows)

📁 Recommended Folder

C:\Pulse\
 ├── api\
 │   └── pulse.Api.dll
 ├── web\
 └── logs\

🔧 appsettings.json (Pulse.API)

{
  "ConnectionStrings": {
    "PulseDb": "Server=localhost;Port=3306;Database=pulse;User=pulse;Password=StrongPasswordHere;"
  },
  "Kestrel": {
    "Endpoints": {
      "Http": {
        "Url": "http://localhost:5001"
      }
    }
  }
}

▶ Test API (Manual)

cd C:\Pulse\api
dotnet pulse.Api.dll

Test:

http://localhost:5001/health

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5️⃣ Apply Database Migrations (IMPORTANT)

Pulse must create tables before running fully.

If migrations are embedded (recommended):

dotnet pulse.Api.dll --migrate

Or if you ship EF tools internally:

dotnet ef database update

Verify tables exist in MySQL Workbench.

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6️⃣ Pulse.Web Setup

🔧 appsettings.json (Pulse.Web)

{
  "PulseApi": {
    "BaseUrl": "http://localhost:5001"
  }
}

▶ Test Web

cd C:\Pulse\web
dotnet pulse.Web.dll

Browse:

http://localhost:5000

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7️⃣ IIS Deployment (Recommended)

Step 1: Enable IIS

optionalfeatures.exe

Enable:

• IIS
• ASP.NET 4.8
• .NET Extensibility
• HTTP Redirect

Step 2: Application Pools

Create two pools:

• Pulse.API
• Pulse.Web

Settings:

• .NET CLR: No Managed Code
• Identity: ApplicationPoolIdentity

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Step 3: IIS Sites

Pulse.API

• Path: C:\Pulse\api
• Port: 5001
• App Pool: Pulse.API

Pulse.Web

• Path: C:\Pulse\web
• Port: 80
• App Pool: Pulse.Web

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web.config (Auto-Generated)

Make sure this exists in both folders:

<aspNetCore processPath="dotnet"
            arguments="pulse.Api.dll"
            hostingModel="InProcess" />

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8️⃣ Firewall Rules

New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Pulse Web" -Direction Inbound -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 80 -Action Allow
New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Pulse API" -Direction Inbound -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 5001 -Action Allow

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9️⃣ Windows Services (Optional but Pro)

Instead of IIS, you can run both as Windows Services:

sc create PulseAPI binPath= "dotnet C:\Pulse\api\pulse.Api.dll"
sc create PulseWeb binPath= "dotnet C:\Pulse\web\pulse.Web.dll"

Then:

sc start PulseAPI
sc start PulseWeb

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🔐 Common Gotchas (Important)

✅ MySQL uses utf8mb4
✅ Use Legacy Authentication
✅ AddDbContext must use UseMySql()
✅ Migrations must run once
✅ API must start before Web
✅ IIS App Pool = No Managed Code

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🚀 Recommended Production Ports

Component	Port
Pulse.Web	80 / 443
Pulse.API	5001 (internal)
MySQL	3306 (local only)

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🔚 Final Result

• Pulse.Web → IIS → Browser
• Pulse.API → IIS/Kestrel
• MySQL → Windows Service
• Clean, stable, Windows-native setup

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