Host anywhere

ASP.NET Core can be hosted on any web server including IIS, NGINX, APACHE, or even self-hosted as a console application. This is made possible by the brand new Kestrel server.

Kestrel is a web server that comes bundled with ASP.NET Core project templates. It has been developed as part of the ASP.NET Core project and is basically a new web server. It is capable of running ASP.NET Core web applications and supports HTTPS and WebSockets. However, it does not support all of the functionality of a full-blown web server, like IIS or NGINX do, which is why it is not recommended for use as a web server for the production of a web application.

The way to go would be to use Kestrel as a reverse proxy for a production-ready web server. Further details on that process can be found in Chapter 16, Taking Advantage of Cloud Services.