net472 to net8.0 migration

Question

net472 to net8.0 migration

Sowmya Golla 0 Microsoft Employee

Hi Team, I am trying to migrate my project with n-tier architecture from .net framework 4.7.2 to .NET 8.0. We are using Entity Framework 6.5.1 and Microsoft.EntityFramework.SqlServer 6.5.1 in shared library [projects, How can i migrate them, tried net472 and netstandard2.1 as multitargeting but getting varoious issues with compatibility with other projects and System.ServiceModel and Entity Framework are not being compatible. What would be the best suggestion we are not planning on migrating to entityframeworkcore as it would be way too many changes in migration

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Answer 1

Hi Sowmya Golla,

Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Q & A forum.

To migrate from .NET Framework 4.7.2 to .NET 8.0 with Entity Framework 6.x, consider the following options:

1.Maintain EF 6.x in .NET Framework: You can continue using Entity Framework 6.x within the .NET Framework for the data layer while migrating the rest of the application to .NET 8.0. This may involve using inter-process communication (IPC) or adopting a service-based architecture.

2.Target .NET Standard: Another option is to retarget your EF 6.x projects to .NET Standard 2.0. However, this might not be fully compatible with .NET 6/7/8, so it could limit your future migration options.

3.Use a Separate Service Layer: Consider isolating the EF 6.x logic into a separate service or API, which can then be consumed by the .NET 8.0 application. This hybrid approach allows for a gradual migration.

4.Resolve Dependency Issues: For compatibility issues with dependencies like System.ServiceModel, explore alternatives such as CoreWCF for .NET 6/7/8 or consider transitioning to HTTP-based services (REST/gRPC) for better long-term compatibility.

If you have found the answer provided to be helpful, please click on the "Accept answer/Upvote" button so that it is useful for other members in the Microsoft Q&A community.

Sowmya Golla 0 Reputation points Microsoft Employee

2025-04-25T17:54:51.3033333+00:00

Hi Pradeep,
Thanks for response
my shared libraries are using system.data.entity so facing problems with multitargeting net472:netstandard2.1. What would be the best solution?
Sowmya Golla 0 Reputation points Microsoft Employee

2025-04-25T18:07:02.14+00:00

it's n-tier architecture
db in ef6 net472
shared libraries all are in net472 and using ef6
web in net472

Answer 2

Bruce (SqlWork.com) 75,051

For .net core you need to use the EF 6 2.1 standard version, which is not supported by net 4.*. This means you will need your common libraries to be built multiple platform, and may require some conditional compile. This is pretty easy to do. See:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/nuget/create-packages/multiple-target-frameworks-project-file

in your case I’d probably target .netstandard 2.0 and 2.1 (or later). You will use framework conditions to control library and nuget packages for each target in the project file. Because of the 2.0 target, you will be limited to c# 7.3 syntax.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/msbuild/msbuild-conditions?view=vs-2022

Sowmya Golla 0 Reputation points Microsoft Employee

2025-04-28T15:35:06.1366667+00:00

Hi Bruce,

Thanks for the response. I tried multitargeting with .net standard2.0 and netstandard 2.1 but entityframework 6.5.1 is not being supported by .netstandard2.0 and for .netstandard 2.1 im getting error "The type 'DbSet<>' is defined in an assembly that is not referenced. You must add a reference to assembly 'EntityFramework, Version=6.0.0.0, Culture=neutral"

This is for n-tier architecture with web, utilities, shared libraries , db with ef6 and not planning to move to EF Core could you also suggest which would be the best way to do this migration?
Pradeep M 8,185 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-04-29T08:41:26.8533333+00:00

Hi Sowmya Golla,

Since Entity Framework 6.5.1 is not fully compatible with .NET Standard and cannot be reliably used in multi-targeted projects with net472, the recommended approach is to isolate the EF6 based data access logic into a separate .NET Framework 4.7.2 service such as a REST API or a CoreWCF service. Your .NET 8.0 application can then interact with this service, allowing the rest of the application to be migrated without modifying the EF6 implementation.

Additionally, shared libraries that currently depend on System.Data.Entity should be refactored to use plain data transfer objects (DTOs) so they can be reused across both .NET Framework and .NET 8.0 projects.

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