Full Stack
Flog It (2023)
Microservices Auction Platform - Foundation Project
A demonstrative car auction platform built to showcase .NET microservices architecture. Features 6 backend services (Auction, Bidding, Gateway, Identity, Notification, Search), real-time bidding via SignalR, and a Next.js frontend. Originally deployed on Kubernetes clusters with full CI/CD. This project served as the foundation for Hero Exchange (2025), demonstrating production-ready patterns that were later extended with gamification features.
Key Features
- •6 microservices: Auction, Bidding, Gateway, Identity (Duende), Notification, Search
- •Real-time bidding with SignalR hub broadcasting to all connected clients
- •gRPC communication between Bidding and Auction services for synchronous calls
- •RabbitMQ message bus for AuctionCreated, BidPlaced, AuctionFinished events
- •Duende IdentityServer with JWT tokens for secure authentication
- •Python bot for simulating auction creation and bid placement
Services / Architecture
- •AuctionService: CRUD operations with PostgreSQL and Entity Framework Core
- •BiddingService: Bid validation, MongoDB storage, gRPC client to AuctionService
- •GatewayService: Reverse proxy routing to all backend services
- •IdentityService: Duende IdentityServer with seeded demo users (bob, alice)
- •NotificationService: SignalR hub with RabbitMQ consumers for real-time broadcasts
- •SearchService: PostgreSQL with auction data synced via RabbitMQ events
Methodologies & Testing
- •Microservices boundaries: Each service owns its database (PostgreSQL or MongoDB)
- •Event-driven updates: SearchService and NotificationService consume auction/bid events
- •gRPC for synchronous calls: BiddingService validates auction status before accepting bids
- •Background job: CheckAuctionFinished runs every 5 seconds to detect expired auctions
Deployment
- •Kubernetes cluster deployment with ingress controller
- •Docker containers for each service (dionupton/auction-svc, bid-svc, etc.)
- •GitHub Actions CI/CD pipeline for automated builds and deployments
- •Live demo previously at app.flogitdemoapp.co.uk (now sunset due to hosting costs)
Gallery
Marketplace grid showing live car auctions with countdown timers, bid amounts, filters (Live/Ending Soon/Completed), and real-time bid notifications
Auction detail page for Ford Mustang showing bid history, vehicle specs (Make, Model, Year, Mileage), countdown timer, and real-time bid toast notifications
Create auction form with fields for Make, Model, Colour, Year, Mileage, Image URL, Reserve Price, and Auction end date/time