Host WCF Service

2011-08-02


For .NET 4.0, there are 4 options to host a WCF Service:

1: Self Hosting in an Application:

Create a regular Application ether of Windows Application or Web Application, and then put WCF services inside of this application;

2: Windows Services:

Registering the AppDomain that hosts an WCF service as a managed Windows Service. The service is implemented as both a Windows Servie and as a WCF service.

3: IIS:

Here IIS most focused on IIS 6.0, IIS 7.0; IIS hosing is integrated with ASP.NET and features. But IIS host can only use the HTTP transport;

4: WAS (Windows Process Activation Service):

WAS is the new process activation mechanism for Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista. Running a WCF service without installing IIS on the Internet using various transport protocols.

Reference article:

1: MSDN Hosting Services

2: Extend Your WCF Services Beyond HTTP With WAS (English and Chinese version)