Hosting

The topics in the section describe service hosting. A service can be hosted by Internet Information Services (IIS), Windows Process Activation Service (WAS), Windows Server AppFabric, a Windows service, or by a managed application—this option is often referred to as self hosting.

It is important to note that running a service or any extension from an untrusted host compromises security.

Hosting in Internet Information Services
Describes how a Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) service is hosted in Internet Information Services or Windows Server AppFabric.

Hosting in Windows Process Activation Service
Describes how a WCF service is hosted by Windows Process Activation Service.

Hosting in a Windows Service Application
Describes how a WCF service is hosted by a Windows service.

Hosting in a Managed Application
Describes how a WCF service is hosted in a managed application.

Configuration-Based Activation in IIS and WAS
Describes how a WCF service is hosted under IIS or WAS without using a .svc file.

Supporting Multiple IIS Site Bindings
Describes how to specify multiple base addresses for a service using the same URI scheme on a single Web site.

• gRPC is a modern RPC framework that is a popular alternative to WCF. gRPC is built on top of HTTP/2, which provides a number of advantages over WCF, including:
  • Performance: gRPC is much more efficient than WCF, especially for long-running connections.
  • Scalability: gRPC is designed to scale to large numbers of clients and servers.
  • Security: gRPC supports a variety of security mechanisms, including TLS and authentication.
  • Cross-platform: gRPC is platform-neutral and can be used with a variety of programming languages.
  For more information on developing or migrating WCF apps to gRPC, see:
  • Why we recommend gRPC for WCF developers
  • Comparing WCF to gRPC
  • Introduction to gRPC for WCF developers
• Hosting Services
• Windows Server App Fabric Hosting Features