Visual Studio throw an error when deploy cloud service extended support to Azure

Hongbo Liu 5 Reputation points
2024-01-24T16:38:51.7733333+00:00

I have a azure cloud service extended support. I use visual studio to deploy it to azure. It works, until it breaks recently without a obvious reason. In the visual studio 2022, Microsoft Azure Activity Log, it shows the following error:

10:49:56 AM - Uploading 'D:\Sysdyne\DispatchServer\DispatchService\bin\Release\app.publish\DispatchService.cspkg' as 'DispatchService-63f3e56b.cspkg' to storage account... 10:50:02 AM - Uploading 'D:\Sysdyne\DispatchServer\DispatchService\bin\Release\app.publish\ServiceConfiguration.Cloud.cscfg' as 'ServiceConfiguration.Cloud-63f3e56b.cscfg' to storage account... 10:50:02 AM - Checking if all the certificates exist in key vault 'https://webcrete-east-au.vault.azure.net/'... 10:50:05 AM - Object reference not set to an instance of an object. No idea what cause it. Any help, I really appreciate it. Screenshot 2024-01-24 113717.png

Azure Cloud Services
Azure Cloud Services
An Azure platform as a service offer that is used to deploy web and cloud applications.
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  1. Dr. S. Gomathi 650 Reputation points MVP
    2024-01-25T01:55:41.8433333+00:00

    Hi Hongbo,

    This exception occurs when you try to use a reference variable that hasn't been instantiated to an object instance; in simpler terms, when you try to use an object that is null.

    From the information given, the error could be due to a couple of reasons:

    • There's an issue with the Key Vault or the certificates within it. Perhaps the application is expecting a certificate that doesn't exist or has been moved, which causes a null object to be referenced.
    • There could be a problem in the deployment script or the Visual Studio tooling that's interfacing with Azure services, leading to a situation where an object that's expected to be initialized is not.

    To troubleshoot this issue, you can:

    • Check the Key Vault to ensure that all necessary certificates are present and correctly configured.
    • Verify that the Visual Studio publish profile or settings for the deployment are correctly set and that any recent changes haven't affected the expected deployment process.
    • Review any changes in the code or dependencies that might affect how the deployment interacts with Azure resources.
    • Look at the stack trace associated with the error, if available, to determine exactly where in the code the null reference is being encountered.
    • Ensure that you have the correct permissions to access the Key Vault and the storage account.
    • Check for any updates or issues with the Visual Studio Azure SDK and tooling.

    If the answer helped, or pointed you in the right direction, please click accept answer or please share more information to help you better.

    1 person found this answer helpful.