managedcode-orleans-graph

ManagedCode.Orleans.Graph

Trigger On

• integrating ManagedCode.Orleans.Graph into an Orleans-based system
• enforcing which grain interfaces may call other grain interfaces and methods
• detecting unsafe runtime grain call cycles or intentional self-reentrancy
• generating configured-policy or live-call Mermaid diagrams
• running observe mode to discover real traffic before locking down a policy

Install

Current upstream release reviewed: v10.0.3.

dotnet add package ManagedCode.Orleans.Graph

The upstream package targets the current .NET 10 / Orleans 10 stack. Do not add it to older Orleans applications without first checking target frameworks and Orleans package compatibility.

Workflow

1. Confirm the application needs grain-call policy enforcement or live-call diagnostics. If the task is generic graph data traversal, use normal Orleans grain modeling instead.
2. Register Orleans.Graph filters in the silo with AddOrleansGraph(...).
3. Model the policy from source grain to target grain and method. Start with explicit allow rules for client entry points and grain-to-grain transitions.
4. Use AllowAll() observe mode only to discover traffic before enforcement. Keep a follow-up step to convert observed edges into reviewed policy.
5. Register the client-side outgoing filter with clientBuilder.AddOrleansGraph() only when Orleans clients should participate in call-history tracking.
6. Use attributes when colocating policy with grain contracts is clearer than central fluent setup.
7. Generate Mermaid diagrams and inspect policy edges for review artifacts.
8. Validate with real Orleans runtime tests, including timer, reminder, hosted-service, and stateless-worker call origins when those are part of the topology.

flowchart LR
  A["Orleans call"] --> B["Outgoing filter records source"]
  B --> C["Incoming filter checks transition policy"]
  C --> D{"Allowed?"}
  D -->|Yes| E["Target grain method runs"]
  D -->|No| F["Blocked before target code"]
  E --> G["Telemetry worker aggregates live edge"]
  G --> H["Telemetry grain / Mermaid graph"]