Vista - Service hosted in a windows appplication or windows service

Hi;



Can a service hosted in a windows application or windows service be
exposed in such a way that allows clients (in other networks and over
the internet) to access functionality in the service?





Regards,
Mike

It sure can.

Once you've got the service exposed via the Windows App (or the Windows Service), you just need to make sure the relevant Network Topology is in place. The IP needs to be public, DNS needs to work, etc.

It's generally considered better form to expose the WCF service via IIS, as it's far more obvious that you're intending to expose something to the public. The IT Staff is generally used to IIS, know how to manage it, know how to assign IP Addresses to it, get the bindings right, install SSL Certificates, etc.

All of this can be done with a self-hosted WCF app, but IIS is probably the better choice for a variety of reasons.

--
Chris Mullins


"Mike" <mike@xxxxxx> wrote in message news:083631AB91224BB2860D039E820074E3@xxxxxx
Hi;

Can a service hosted in a windows application or windows service be exposed in such a way that allows clients (in other networks and over the internet) to access functionality in the service?


Regards,
Mike

Now this is what I'm trying to accomplish;



I will have clients (over the internet) that will communicate with a
server application thru this services I'm referring.

When a client sends an action let's say, LOGIN, the server application
(running on the server, and probably a windows form app or a windows
service) will authenticate the user.

Another action could be RUN REPORT. I want the client to send actions,
thru a service, and then the server application execute those action and
maintain a state of the client session.

The client will monitor, every 5 seconds or so if the operation was
completed, and then inform the user.

Got the idea?



So how can I glue everything together, how can I tell the server
application RUN THIS based on an action received from the client thru
the services exposed in ISS?



Thanks



From: Chris Mullins [MVP - C#] [mailto:cmullins@xxxxxx]
Posted At: Tuesday, October 09, 2007 8:24 PM
Posted To: microsoft.public.windows.developer.winfx.indigo
Conversation: Service hosted in a windows appplication or windows
service
Subject: Re: Service hosted in a windows appplication or windows service



It sure can.



Once you've got the service exposed via the Windows App (or the Windows
Service), you just need to make sure the relevant Network Topology is in
place. The IP needs to be public, DNS needs to work, etc.



It's generally considered better form to expose the WCF service via IIS,
as it's far more obvious that you're intending to expose something to
the public. The IT Staff is generally used to IIS, know how to manage
it, know how to assign IP Addresses to it, get the bindings right,
install SSL Certificates, etc.



All of this can be done with a self-hosted WCF app, but IIS is probably
the better choice for a variety of reasons.



--

Chris Mullins




"Mike" <mike@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:083631AB91224BB2860D039E820074E3@xxxxxx
Hi;

Can a service hosted in a windows application or windows service be
exposed in such a way that allows clients (in other networks and over
the internet) to access functionality in the service?


Regards,
Mike

Host the server applciation in IIS.

Alternativly, host the server application in a Windows Service, and use the Web Service exposed via IIS as a proxy.

This would mean:
1 - a user over the internet sends a command to the IIS Service
2 - The IIS Service connects to the "real" service, and sends the command.

You could do this using the turnkey routing built into WCF, or with custom code.

Personally, I would lean towards hosting the whole thing in IIS - but that's only because I'm lazy. It would depend on the security requirements you've got, what your compay rules are for hitting a database from a machine in the DMZ, etc.

--
Chris Mullins
"Mike" <mike@xxxxxx> wrote in message news:B27B32F6D45A4C61A659D90F7AA65181@xxxxxx
Now this is what I'm trying to accomplish;



I will have clients (over the internet) that will communicate with a server application thru this services I'm referring.

When a client sends an action let's say, LOGIN, the server application (running on the server, and probably a windows form app or a windows service) will authenticate the user.

Another action could be RUN REPORT. I want the client to send actions, thru a service, and then the server application execute those action and maintain a state of the client session.

The client will monitor, every 5 seconds or so if the operation was completed, and then inform the user.

Got the idea?



So how can I glue everything together, how can I tell the server application RUN THIS based on an action received from the client thru the services exposed in ISS?



Thanks



From: Chris Mullins [MVP - C#] [mailto:cmullins@xxxxxx]
Posted At: Tuesday, October 09, 2007 8:24 PM
Posted To: microsoft.public.windows.developer.winfx.indigo
Conversation: Service hosted in a windows appplication or windows service
Subject: Re: Service hosted in a windows appplication or windows service



It sure can.



Once you've got the service exposed via the Windows App (or the Windows Service), you just need to make sure the relevant Network Topology is in place. The IP needs to be public, DNS needs to work, etc.



It's generally considered better form to expose the WCF service via IIS, as it's far more obvious that you're intending to expose something to the public. The IT Staff is generally used to IIS, know how to manage it, know how to assign IP Addresses to it, get the bindings right, install SSL Certificates, etc.



All of this can be done with a self-hosted WCF app, but IIS is probably the better choice for a variety of reasons.



--

Chris Mullins




"Mike" <mike@xxxxxx> wrote in message news:083631AB91224BB2860D039E820074E3@xxxxxx
Hi;

Can a service hosted in a windows application or windows service be exposed in such a way that allows clients (in other networks and over the internet) to access functionality in the service?


Regards,
Mike

This can be done if you expose a port on the server. Then external user can
try to access service through the port. I beleive you are thinking of
something similar o remoting. You can do it; you would need to be carefull of
security.

"Mike" wrote:

It is possible, as long as the host has programmed his computer to allow
another network user to access his windows applications then external
unsolicitied access is permissable. Just try the Windows device manager and
follow the leds ...

Good luck and remember, safety first (so have your firewall ready).

--
Attellati


"Mike" wrote: