**Step 1: Installing the OpenTelemetry dependency packages:**

```bash
dotnet add package OpenTelemetry
dotnet add package OpenTelemetry.Exporter.OpenTelemetryProtocol 
dotnet add package OpenTelemetry.Extensions.Hosting
dotnet add package OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.Runtime
dotnet add package OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.AspNetCore 
dotnet add package OpenTelemetry.AutoInstrumentation
```

**Step 2: Adding OpenTelemetry as a service and configuring exporter options in `Program.cs`:**

In your `Program.cs` file, add OpenTelemetry as a service.

Here’s a sample `Program.cs` file with the configured variables.

```bash
using System.Diagnostics;
using OpenTelemetry.Exporter;
using OpenTelemetry.Resources;
using OpenTelemetry.Trace;

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

// Configure OpenTelemetry with tracing and auto-start.
builder.Services.AddOpenTelemetry()
    .ConfigureResource(resource => 
		resource.AddService(serviceName: "{{MYAPP}}"))
    .WithTracing(tracing => tracing
        .AddAspNetCoreInstrumentation()
        .AddOtlpExporter(otlpOptions =>
        {
						//SigNoz Cloud Endpoint 
            otlpOptions.Endpoint = new Uri("https://ingest.{{REGION}}.signoz.cloud:443");

            otlpOptions.Protocol = OtlpExportProtocol.Grpc;
						
						//SigNoz Cloud account Ingestion key
            string headerKey = "signoz-ingestion-key";
            string headerValue = "{{SIGNOZ_INGESTION_KEY}}";

            string formattedHeader = $"{headerKey}={headerValue}";
            otlpOptions.Headers = formattedHeader;
        }));

var app = builder.Build();

// The index route ("/") is set up to write out the OpenTelemetry trace information on the response:
app.MapGet("/", () => $"Hello World! OpenTelemetry Trace: {Activity.Current?.Id}");

app.Run();
```


**Step 3. Running the .NET application:**

```bash
dotnet build
dotnet run
```

**Step 4: Generating some load data and checking your application in SigNoz UI**

Once your application is running, generate some traffic by interacting with it.

In the SigNoz account, open the `Services` tab. Hit the `Refresh` button on the top right corner, and your application should appear in the list of `Applications`. Ensure that you're checking data for the `time range filter` applied in the top right corner. You might have to wait for a few seconds before the data appears on SigNoz UI.