Azure.Messaging.EventHubs (.NET)

High-throughput event streaming SDK for sending and receiving events via Azure Event Hubs.

Installation

bash
# Core package (sending and simple receiving)
dotnet add package Azure.Messaging.EventHubs

# Processor package (production receiving with checkpointing)
dotnet add package Azure.Messaging.EventHubs.Processor

# Authentication
dotnet add package Azure.Identity

# For checkpointing (required by EventProcessorClient)
dotnet add package Azure.Storage.Blobs

Current Versions: Azure.Messaging.EventHubs v5.12.2, Azure.Messaging.EventHubs.Processor v5.12.2

Environment Variables

bash
EVENTHUB_FULLY_QUALIFIED_NAMESPACE=<namespace>.servicebus.windows.net  # Required: Event Hubs fully qualified namespace
EVENTHUB_NAME=<event-hub-name>  # Required: Event Hub name
BLOB_STORAGE_CONNECTION_STRING=<storage-connection-string>  # Alternative to Entra ID auth
BLOB_CONTAINER_NAME=<checkpoint-container>  # Required: checkpoint container name
EVENTHUB_CONNECTION_STRING=Endpoint=sb://<namespace>.servicebus.windows.net/;SharedAccessKeyName=...  # Alternative to Entra ID auth
AZURE_TOKEN_CREDENTIALS=prod  # Required only if DefaultAzureCredential is used in production

Authentication

csharp
using Azure.Identity;
using Azure.Messaging.EventHubs;
using Azure.Messaging.EventHubs.Producer;

// Local dev: DefaultAzureCredential. Production: set AZURE_TOKEN_CREDENTIALS=prod or AZURE_TOKEN_CREDENTIALS=<specific_credential>
var credential = new DefaultAzureCredential(
    DefaultAzureCredential.DefaultEnvironmentVariableName
);
// Or use a specific credential directly in production:
// See https://learn.microsoft.com/dotnet/api/overview/azure/identity-readme?view=azure-dotnet#credential-classes
// var credential = new ManagedIdentityCredential();

var fullyQualifiedNamespace = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("EVENTHUB_FULLY_QUALIFIED_NAMESPACE");
var eventHubName = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("EVENTHUB_NAME");

var producer = new EventHubProducerClient(
    fullyQualifiedNamespace,
    eventHubName,
    credential);

Required RBAC Roles:

• Sending: Azure Event Hubs Data Sender
• Receiving: Azure Event Hubs Data Receiver
• Both: Azure Event Hubs Data Owner

Client Types

| Client | Purpose | When to Use | |--------|---------|-------------| | EventHubProducerClient | Send events immediately in batches | Real-time sending, full control over batching | | EventHubBufferedProducerClient | Automatic batching with background sending | High-volume, fire-and-forget scenarios | | EventHubConsumerClient | Simple event reading | Prototyping only, NOT for production | | EventProcessorClient | Production event processing | Always use this for receiving in production |

Core Workflow

1. Send Events (Batch)

csharp
using Azure.Identity;
using Azure.Messaging.EventHubs;
using Azure.Messaging.EventHubs.Producer;

await using var producer = new EventHubProducerClient(
    fullyQualifiedNamespace,
    eventHubName,
    new DefaultAzureCredential());

// Create a batch (respects size limits automatically)
using EventDataBatch batch = await producer.CreateBatchAsync();

// Add events to batch
var events = new[]
{
    new EventData(BinaryData.FromString("{\"id\": 1, \"message\": \"Hello\"}")),
    new EventData(BinaryData.FromString("{\"id\": 2, \"message\": \"World\"}"))
};

foreach (var eventData in events)
{
    if (!batch.TryAdd(eventData))
    {
        // Batch is full - send it and create a new one
        await producer.SendAsync(batch);
        batch = await producer.CreateBatchAsync();
        
        if (!batch.TryAdd(eventData))
        {
            throw new Exception("Event too large for empty batch");
        }
    }
}

// Send remaining events
if (batch.Count > 0)
{
    await producer.SendAsync(batch);
}

2. Send Events (Buffered - High Volume)

csharp
using Azure.Messaging.EventHubs.Producer;

var options = new EventHubBufferedProducerClientOptions
{
    MaximumWaitTime = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(1)
};

await using var producer = new EventHubBufferedProducerClient(
    fullyQualifiedNamespace,
    eventHubName,
    new DefaultAzureCredential(),
    options);

// Handle send success/failure
producer.SendEventBatchSucceededAsync += args =>
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Batch sent: {args.EventBatch.Count} events");
    return Task.CompletedTask;
};

producer.SendEventBatchFailedAsync += args =>
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Batch failed: {args.Exception.Message}");
    return Task.CompletedTask;
};

// Enqueue events (sent automatically in background)
for (int i = 0; i < 1000; i++)
{
    await producer.EnqueueEventAsync(new EventData($"Event {i}"));
}

// Flush remaining events before disposing
await producer.FlushAsync();

3. Receive Events (Production - EventProcessorClient)

csharp
using Azure.Identity;
using Azure.Messaging.EventHubs;
using Azure.Messaging.EventHubs.Consumer;
using Azure.Messaging.EventHubs.Processor;
using Azure.Storage.Blobs;

// Blob container for checkpointing
var blobClient = new BlobContainerClient(
    Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("BLOB_STORAGE_CONNECTION_STRING"),
    Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("BLOB_CONTAINER_NAME"));

await blobClient.CreateIfNotExistsAsync();

// Create processor
var processor = new EventProcessorClient(
    blobClient,
    EventHubConsumerClient.DefaultConsumerGroup,
    fullyQualifiedNamespace,
    eventHubName,
    new DefaultAzureCredential());

// Handle events
processor.ProcessEventAsync += async args =>
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Partition: {args.Partition.PartitionId}");
    Console.WriteLine($"Data: {args.Data.EventBody}");
    
    // Checkpoint after processing (or batch checkpoints)
    await args.UpdateCheckpointAsync();
};

// Handle errors
processor.ProcessErrorAsync += args =>
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Error: {args.Exception.Message}");
    Console.WriteLine($"Partition: {args.PartitionId}");
    return Task.CompletedTask;
};

// Start processing
await processor.StartProcessingAsync();

// Run until cancelled
await Task.Delay(Timeout.Infinite, cancellationToken);

// Stop gracefully
await processor.StopProcessingAsync();

4. Partition Operations

csharp
// Get partition IDs
string[] partitionIds = await producer.GetPartitionIdsAsync();

// Send to specific partition (use sparingly)
var options = new SendEventOptions
{
    PartitionId = "0"
};
await producer.SendAsync(events, options);

// Use partition key (recommended for ordering)
var batchOptions = new CreateBatchOptions
{
    PartitionKey = "customer-123"  // Events with same key go to same partition
};
using var batch = await producer.CreateBatchAsync(batchOptions);

EventPosition Options

Control where to start reading:

csharp
// Start from beginning
EventPosition.Earliest

// Start from end (new events only)
EventPosition.Latest

// Start from specific offset
EventPosition.FromOffset(12345)

// Start from specific sequence number
EventPosition.FromSequenceNumber(100)

// Start from specific time
EventPosition.FromEnqueuedTime(DateTimeOffset.UtcNow.AddHours(-1))

ASP.NET Core Integration

csharp
// Program.cs
using Azure.Identity;
using Azure.Messaging.EventHubs.Producer;
using Microsoft.Extensions.Azure;

builder.Services.AddAzureClients(clientBuilder =>
{
    clientBuilder.AddEventHubProducerClient(
        builder.Configuration["EventHub:FullyQualifiedNamespace"],
        builder.Configuration["EventHub:Name"]);
    
    clientBuilder.UseCredential(new DefaultAzureCredential());
});

// Inject in controller/service
public class EventService
{
    private readonly EventHubProducerClient _producer;
    
    public EventService(EventHubProducerClient producer)
    {
        _producer = producer;
    }
    
    public async Task SendAsync(string message)
    {
        using var batch = await _producer.CreateBatchAsync();
        batch.TryAdd(new EventData(message));
        await _producer.SendAsync(batch);
    }
}

Best Practices

1. Use EventProcessorClient for receiving — Never use EventHubConsumerClient in production
2. Checkpoint strategically — After N events or time interval, not every event
3. Use partition keys — For ordering guarantees within a partition
4. Reuse clients — Create once, use as singleton (thread-safe)
5. Use await using — Ensures proper disposal
6. Handle ProcessErrorAsync — Always register error handler
7. Batch events — Use CreateBatchAsync() to respect size limits
8. Use buffered producer — For high-volume scenarios with automatic batching

Error Handling

csharp
using Azure.Messaging.EventHubs;

try
{
    await producer.SendAsync(batch);
}
catch (EventHubsException ex) when (ex.Reason == EventHubsException.FailureReason.ServiceBusy)
{
    // Retry with backoff
    await Task.Delay(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(5));
}
catch (EventHubsException ex) when (ex.IsTransient)
{
    // Transient error - safe to retry
    Console.WriteLine($"Transient error: {ex.Message}");
}
catch (EventHubsException ex)
{
    // Non-transient error
    Console.WriteLine($"Error: {ex.Reason} - {ex.Message}");
}

Checkpointing Strategies

| Strategy | When to Use | |----------|-------------| | Every event | Low volume, critical data | | Every N events | Balanced throughput/reliability | | Time-based | Consistent checkpoint intervals | | Batch completion | After processing a logical batch |

csharp
// Checkpoint every 100 events
private int _eventCount = 0;

processor.ProcessEventAsync += async args =>
{
    // Process event...
    
    _eventCount++;
    if (_eventCount >= 100)
    {
        await args.UpdateCheckpointAsync();
        _eventCount = 0;
    }
};

Related SDKs

| SDK | Purpose | Install | |-----|---------|---------| | Azure.Messaging.EventHubs | Core sending/receiving | dotnet add package Azure.Messaging.EventHubs | | Azure.Messaging.EventHubs.Processor | Production processing | dotnet add package Azure.Messaging.EventHubs.Processor | | Azure.ResourceManager.EventHubs | Management plane (create hubs) | dotnet add package Azure.ResourceManager.EventHubs | | Microsoft.Azure.WebJobs.Extensions.EventHubs | Azure Functions binding | dotnet add package Microsoft.Azure.WebJobs.Extensions.EventHubs |