Quick Answer
Kestrel handles raw HTTP/HTTPS connections and processes requests fully within the .NET process. It's fast, cross-platform, and supports HTTP/2 and HTTP/3. Without IIS or nginx in front, Kestrel handles everything. In production, a reverse proxy handles TLS, rate limiting, and load balancing while forwarding HTTP to Kestrel internally.
Answer
Kestrel is a high-performance cross-platform server optimized for asynchronous I/O. ASP.NET Core uses it because it offers superior throughput, low memory overhead, full platform portability, and seamless integration behind reverse proxies like Nginx/IIS.
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Verified Answer
This answer has been peer-reviewed by industry experts holding senior engineering roles to ensure technical accuracy and relevance for modern interview standards.
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