Akka.NET Management and Service Discovery

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

• Deploying Akka.NET clusters to Kubernetes or cloud environments
• Replacing static seed nodes with dynamic service discovery
• Configuring cluster bootstrap for auto-formation
• Setting up health endpoints for load balancers
• Integrating with Azure Table Storage, Kubernetes API, or config-based discovery

Reference Files

• discovery-providers.md: Config, Kubernetes, and Azure discovery setup with full code and deployment YAML
• configuration-reference.md: Strongly-typed configuration model classes

Overview

Akka.Management provides HTTP endpoints for cluster management and integrates with Akka.Cluster.Bootstrap to enable dynamic cluster formation using service discovery instead of static seed nodes.

Why Use Akka.Management?

Use static seed nodes for: Development, single-node deployments, fixed infrastructure.

Use Akka.Management for: Kubernetes, auto-scaling groups, dynamic environments, production clusters.

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    Cluster Bootstrap                         │
│  ┌─────────────┐    ┌─────────────┐    ┌─────────────┐     │
│  │  Node 1     │    │  Node 2     │    │  Node 3     │     │
│  │             │    │             │    │             │     │
│  │ Management  │◄──►│ Management  │◄──►│ Management  │     │
│  │ HTTP :8558  │    │ HTTP :8558  │    │ HTTP :8558  │     │
│  └──────┬──────┘    └──────┬──────┘    └──────┬──────┘     │
│         │                  │                  │             │
│         └──────────────────┼──────────────────┘             │
│                            │                                │
│                    ┌───────▼───────┐                        │
│                    │   Discovery   │                        │
│                    │   Provider    │                        │
│                    └───────────────┘                        │
│                            │                                │
└────────────────────────────┼────────────────────────────────┘
                             │
              ┌──────────────┼──────────────┐
              │              │              │
        ┌─────▼─────┐ ┌──────▼─────┐ ┌─────▼──────┐
        │ Kubernetes│ │   Azure    │ │   Config   │
        │    API    │ │   Tables   │ │   (HOCON)  │
        └───────────┘ └────────────┘ └────────────┘

Required NuGet Packages

<ItemGroup>
  <!-- Core management -->
  <PackageReference Include="Akka.Management" />
  <PackageReference Include="Akka.Management.Cluster.Bootstrap" />

  <!-- Choose ONE discovery provider -->
  <PackageReference Include="Akka.Discovery.KubernetesApi" />    <!-- For Kubernetes -->
  <PackageReference Include="Akka.Discovery.Azure" />            <!-- For Azure -->
  <PackageReference Include="Akka.Discovery.Config.Hosting" />   <!-- For static config -->
</ItemGroup>

Akka.Hosting Configuration

Basic Setup with Mode Selection

public static class AkkaConfiguration
{
    public static IServiceCollection ConfigureAkka(
        this IServiceCollection services,
        Action<AkkaConfigurationBuilder, IServiceProvider>? additionalConfig = null)
    {
        services.AddOptions<AkkaSettings>()
            .BindConfiguration("AkkaSettings")
            .ValidateDataAnnotations()
            .ValidateOnStart();

        return services.AddAkka("MySystem", (builder, sp) =>
        {
            var settings = sp.GetRequiredService<IOptions<AkkaSettings>>().Value;
            var configuration = sp.GetRequiredService<IConfiguration>();

            ConfigureNetwork(builder, settings, configuration);
            ConfigureHealthChecks(builder);

            additionalConfig?.Invoke(builder, sp);
        });
    }

    private static void ConfigureNetwork(
        AkkaConfigurationBuilder builder,
        AkkaSettings settings,
        IConfiguration configuration)
    {
        if (settings.ExecutionMode == AkkaExecutionMode.LocalTest)
            return;

        builder.WithRemoting(settings.RemoteOptions);

        if (settings.ClusterBootstrapOptions.Enabled)
            ConfigureAkkaManagement(builder, settings, configuration);
        else
            builder.WithClustering(settings.ClusterOptions);
    }
}

Akka.Management Configuration

private static void ConfigureAkkaManagement(
    AkkaConfigurationBuilder builder,
    AkkaSettings settings,
    IConfiguration configuration)
{
    var mgmtOptions = settings.AkkaManagementOptions;
    var bootstrapOptions = settings.ClusterBootstrapOptions;

    // IMPORTANT: Clear seed nodes when using Akka.Management
    settings.ClusterOptions.SeedNodes = [];

    builder
        .WithClustering(settings.ClusterOptions)
        .WithAkkaManagement(setup =>
        {
            setup.Http.HostName = mgmtOptions.HostName;
            setup.Http.Port = mgmtOptions.Port;
            setup.Http.BindHostName = "0.0.0.0";
            setup.Http.BindPort = mgmtOptions.Port;
        })
        .WithClusterBootstrap(options =>
        {
            options.ContactPointDiscovery.ServiceName = bootstrapOptions.ServiceName;
            options.ContactPointDiscovery.PortName = bootstrapOptions.PortName;
            options.ContactPointDiscovery.RequiredContactPointsNr = bootstrapOptions.RequiredContactPointsNr;
            options.ContactPointDiscovery.Interval = bootstrapOptions.ContactPointProbingInterval;
            options.ContactPointDiscovery.StableMargin = bootstrapOptions.StableMargin;
            options.ContactPointDiscovery.ContactWithAllContactPoints = bootstrapOptions.ContactWithAllContactPoints;
            options.ContactPoint.FilterOnFallbackPort = bootstrapOptions.FilterOnFallbackPort;
            options.ContactPoint.ProbeInterval = bootstrapOptions.BootstrapperDiscoveryPingInterval;
        });

    // Configure the discovery provider
    ConfigureDiscovery(builder, settings, configuration);
}

See discovery-providers.md for complete Config, Kubernetes, and Azure discovery setup code.

See configuration-reference.md for the full strongly-typed configuration model classes.

Health Endpoints

Akka.Management exposes health endpoints for load balancers and orchestrators:

ASP.NET Core Health Check Integration

// Register Akka health checks
builder.Services.AddHealthChecks();

// In Akka configuration
builder
    .WithActorSystemLivenessCheck()     // Adds "akka-liveness" health check
    .WithAkkaClusterReadinessCheck();   // Adds "akka-cluster-readiness" health check

// Map endpoints
app.MapHealthChecks("/health/live", new HealthCheckOptions
{
    Predicate = check => check.Tags.Contains("liveness")
});

app.MapHealthChecks("/health/ready", new HealthCheckOptions
{
    Predicate = check => check.Tags.Contains("readiness")
});

Troubleshooting

Cluster Won't Form

Symptoms: Nodes stay as separate single-node clusters.

Checklist:

1. All nodes use same ServiceName
2. RequiredContactPointsNr matches actual replica count
3. Discovery provider is configured correctly
4. Network allows traffic on management port (8558)
5. For Kubernetes: RBAC permissions are set

Split Brain

Symptoms: Multiple clusters form instead of one.

Solutions:

1. Set ContactWithAllContactPoints = true
2. Increase StableMargin for slower environments
3. For Aspire: Set FilterOnFallbackPort = false (dynamic ports)
4. For Kubernetes: Set FilterOnFallbackPort = true (fixed ports)

Azure Discovery Issues

Symptoms: Nodes can't find each other via Azure Tables.

Checklist:

1. Connection string is valid
2. Storage account allows table operations
3. All nodes use same ServiceName
4. Firewall allows access to Azure Storage

Aspire Integration

For detailed Aspire-specific patterns, see the akka-net-aspire-configuration skill.

Quick reference for Aspire:

// In AppHost
appBuilder
    .WithEndpoint(name: "remote", protocol: ProtocolType.Tcp,
        env: "AkkaSettings__RemoteOptions__Port")
    .WithEndpoint(name: "management", protocol: ProtocolType.Tcp,
        env: "AkkaSettings__AkkaManagementOptions__Port")
    .WithEnvironment("AkkaSettings__ClusterBootstrapOptions__Enabled", "true")
    .WithEnvironment("AkkaSettings__ClusterBootstrapOptions__DiscoveryMethod", "AzureTableStorage")
    .WithEnvironment("AkkaSettings__ClusterBootstrapOptions__FilterOnFallbackPort", "false");

Summary: When to Use What