.NET Runtime Diagnostics Toolchain - Observability & Production Incidents

1Choose Diagnostic EvidenceRecommended startChooses counters, traces, stack snapshots, GC dumps, full dumps, or a profiler from the production symptom and investigation cost.Comparison questionEasy~6 min.NETPractice

2Triage with dotnet-countersUses live runtime and application counters to classify CPU, memory, GC, exception, request, and ThreadPool symptoms before deeper collection.Debugging scenarioEasy~7 min.NETASP.NET CorePractice

3High CPU with dotnet-traceCollects a bounded EventPipe CPU trace and reads stack evidence without confusing hot methods, blocked time, native work, or sampling artifacts.Debugging scenarioMedium~8 min.NETPractice

4Prove ThreadPool StarvationCombines ThreadPool counters, repeated stack snapshots, and wait-event traces to distinguish blocked workers from CPU or dependency pressure.Debugging scenarioHard~10 min.NETASP.NET CorePractice

5GC Dump vs Full DumpChooses heap-focused GC evidence or complete process state based on memory growth, roots, hangs, crashes, locks, and collection risk.Comparison questionMedium~8 min.NETPractice

6Safe Production CollectionDesigns controlled diagnostic access, collection triggers, container permissions, artifact egress, privacy, retention, and post-capture verification.Architecture scenarioHard~10 min.NETDockerPractice