wcf
I need to set up two machines later today for a domo of a client/server app written with WCF. (Both machines have Visual Studio 2008 installed)
I have been testing the applications using the WCF Service Host (wcfSvcHost.exe) on my PC.
Will wcfSvcHost.exe let a client connect from a remote machine over HTTP (ideally port 80)?
Or is it limited to local clients (localhost) only like the Visual Studio 2008 inbuilt web server?
You can use System.Environment.MachineName
For example:
new EndpointAddress(new UriBuilder {Scheme = Uri.UriSchemeNetTcp, Port = port, Host = System.Environment.MachineName}.Uri);
The reason people are recommending wsHttpDualBinding is because it is in itself a secure and interoperable binding that is designed for use with duplex service contracts that allows both services and clients to send and receive messages.
The type of communication mentioned 'duplex' has several variations. Half and Full are the simplest.
Each will introduce a benefit and a problem, they also provide ways to build this communication more effectively based upon your needs.
I'm slightly confused, but I'll attempt to clarify.
You have an assortment of approaches that may occur here, a Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) Service requires the following:
Those are essentially the "ABC's" for WCF. The creation of those depicts a picture like this:
As you can see the Service will contain:
The host houses the service which the client will consume so those service methods perform a desired task. An example representation:
As you see Client-1 is going through the Internet (HTTP, HTTPS, etc.) then will hit the Host, which will have the service perform those tasks.
Now Client-n is consuming the service locally, so it is talking over (TCP, etc.) as an example.
The easiest way to remember: One service can be consumed by however many clients require those methods to perform a task. You can create very complex models using a service-oriented architecture (SOA).
All WCF is, is a mean to connect your application to a host or centralized location you may not have access to.
As you can see in the above image, the Client communicates through a Service to the Host. Which performs a series of task. WCF will talk over an array of protocols. Hopefully this will provide a better understanding of how WCF is structured.
There are a lot of tutorials and even post to get you started. Some excellent books such as "WCF Step by Step".
Essentially your looking for an asynchronous full duplex connection, or a synchronous full duplex service. As mentioned above, your task in essence is the point of a Service.
The question: How does this work best?
It will boil down to your design. There are limitations and structures that you will need to adhere to to truly optimize it for your goal.
Such obstacles may be:
The list continues and continues. I'd really look up tutorials or a few books on WCF. Here are a few:
They will help you work with the service structure to adhere to your desired goal.
Remember the "ABCs" for the most success with WCF.
Best Answer
No it is not limited to the local machine. You will need to config the project to use port 80. You may also need to open the firewall.
You should not use the wcfsvchost in a production environment
On Vista to use port 80, you also will need to run
with admin rights
On XP it is more complex...