Model Context Protocol is rapidly becoming the de facto standard for LLMs and systems to communicate.
This session explores the fundamentals of the MCP protocol, how to safely implement it into our applications with the .NET SDK and Semantic Kernel, plus key considerations for building a production-ready system – like auth, rate limits, and observability.
We'll cover the basics of setting up an MCP server in .NET and exposing executable functionality as Tools, enabling any client to communicate with our application. We'll understand how Semantic Kernel's familiar concepts of Plugins and Functions map over to the world of MCP.
Let's walk through integrating .NET's native Identity services to align with MCP’s authentication spec, enforce role-based permissions using Semantic Kernel Filters, and apply rate limiting middleware to keep systems reliable and secure.
Finally we will discuss approaches to running intelligent .NET applications in the wild with Azure API Management, open telemetry, and .NET Aspire on Azure Container Apps.