How to solve this InvalidCastException while applying ClientCertificate to WCF DataService Client? - wcf

I have used the examples in this article to add client certificate authentication to my WCF Data Service. I had to change the example slightly because I am using WCF DataService 5.6 in which the SendingRequest event has been deprecated and replaced by SendingRequest2.
Basically this meant changing the following event handler:
private void OnSendingRequest_AddCertificate(object sender, SendingRequestEventArgs args)
{
if (null != ClientCertificate)
{
((HttpWebRequest)args.Request).ClientCertificates.Add(ClientCertificate);
}
}
To:
private void OnSendingRequest_AddCertificate(object sender, SendingRequest2EventArgs args)
{
if (null != ClientCertificate)
{
((HttpWebRequestMessage)args.RequestMessage).HttpWebRequest.ClientCertificates.Add(ClientCertificate);
}
}
This seems to work. However now I get the following InvalidCastException on some actions:
System.InvalidCastException: Unable to cast object of type
'System.Data.Services.Client.InternalODataRequestMessage' to type
'System.Data.Services.Client.HttpWebRequestMessage'.
I haven't been able to identify with 100% accuracy which actions these are, but it seems consistently on the SaveChanges method (see stacktrace below:)
at MyNamespace.MyContainer.OnSendingRequest_AddCertificate(Object sender, SendingRequest2EventArgs args)
at System.Data.Services.Client.ODataRequestMessageWrapper.FireSendingRequest2(Descriptor descriptor)
at System.Data.Services.Client.BatchSaveResult.GenerateBatchRequest()
at System.Data.Services.Client.BatchSaveResult.BatchRequest()
at System.Data.Services.Client.DataServiceContext.SaveChanges(SaveChangesOptions options)
I came to the modification from SendingRequest to SendingRequest2 by trial and error, so I wonder if I overlooked something there. Or is this completely unrelated and should I just add an && args.RequestMessage is HttpWebRequestMessage to the if statement in the handler?

Seems that you are sending a batch request. A batch request contains several internal requests which are InternalODataRequestMessage. SendingRequest2 will apply the OnSendingRequest action into both the $batch request and it's internal requests.
You can try following code
private void OnSendingRequest_AddCertificate(object sender, SendingRequest2EventArgs args)
{
if (null != ClientCertificate && !args.IsBatchPart)
{
((HttpWebRequestMessage)args.RequestMessage).HttpWebRequest.ClientCertificates.Add(ClientCertificate);
}
}
args.IsBatchPart returns true if this event is fired for request within a batch, otherwise returns false.

It seems the problem occurs when I perform a batch operation.
I tried to dig through the InternalODataRequestMessage to see if I could add client certificates to that somehow using reflection and the DataServices source. I found the instance of InternalODataRequestMessage has a private member requestMessage of type ODataBatchOperationRequestMessage. By looking at the source code I couldn't any way to add a certificate.
What I did notice is that I can actually still use the deprecated SendingRequest event just like before. So that's what I did and everything seems fine.
I feel like there should be a way to use a client certificate without using deprecated methods. So if someone has an answer that shows that, I'll accept that.

Related

How to properly return status/error codes from an Azure Function that was triggered by an Event Grid event

I'm trying to wrap my head around how to manage controlled and uncontrolled results/failures in Azure Functions triggered by Event Grid events. I'm sure I'm missing some fundamental aspect but I can't really make sense of the available Microsoft documentation.
Using the current Visual Studio 2019 Azure Function templates for Event Grid triggers, we get C# methods that looks similar to this:
[FunctionName("UserCreated")]
public static void UserCreated([EventGridTrigger]EventGridEvent evt, ILogger log)
{
...
}
Q1. What is the proper way of returning statuses and error codes from these methods so that the event can be either retried or passed to the dead letter blob? Lets say I want to return a Status 400 Bad Request because the custom data payload in the event that was passed in wasn't up to speed. I've tried this:
[FunctionName("UserCreated")]
public static async Task<IActionResult> UserCreated([EventGridTrigger]EventGridEvent evt, ILogger log)
{
...
return new BadRequestObjectResult("ouch");
}
... which just results in this error when running the function locally:
Cannot bind parameter '$return' to type IActionResult&. Make sure the parameter Type is supported by the binding.
I don't understand this error and have no idea how to solve it.
Q2. How do we properly catch exceptions and return them in an orderly fashion? Let's say the UserCreated method above requires the passed in event to have a few custom datapoints, and that one of those datapoints are missing. E.g. we have this:
[JsonObject(ItemRequired = Required.Always)]
private class CustomerAndContactIds
{
public int CustomerId { get; set; }
public int ContactId { get; set; }
}
... and when we convert some event data that is missing e.g. the ContactID field, like so:
private static T ExtractCustomPayloadFromEvent<T>(EventGridEvent evt)
{
return JObject.FromObject(evt.Data).ToObject<T>();
}
... we get this in the logs:
System.Private.CoreLib: Exception while executing function: UserCreated. Newtonsoft.Json: Required property 'ContactPersonId' not found in JSON. Path ''.
However, all we get in e.g. Postman is:
Exception while executing function: UserCreated
What's the proper way of making this a bit more legible for consumers that aren't privy to e.g. the Azure log stream or Azure Insights?
To Q1:
Currently version of the EventGridTrigger function doesn't have a specific exception object to handle for its wrapper back a HttpStatusCode value. In other words, any exception in the azure function will force a retry pattern when it is enabled.
As a workaround for this issue, we can use a HttpTrigger function for subscriber handler with the HttpStatusCode return value.

Netty - `Future.operationComplete` never called when running in SSL mode in idle timeout handler

We have implemented the following channelIdle implementation.
public void channelIdle(ChannelHandlerContext ctx, IdleStateEvent e)
throws Exception {
Response response = business.getResponse();
final Channel channel = e.getChannel();
ChannelFuture channelFuture
= Channels.write(
channel,
ChannelBuffers.wrappedBuffer(response.getXML().getBytes())
);
if (response.shouldDisconnect()) {// returns true and listener _is_ added.
channelFuture.addListener(new ChannelFutureListener() {
#Override
public void operationComplete(ChannelFuture future) throws Exception {
channel.close(); // never gets called :(
}
});
}
}
When running in non-SSL mode this works as expected.
However, when running with SSL enabled the operationComplete method never gets called. We've verified this a few times on various machines. The idle timeout happens many times but the operationComplete isn't called. We don't see any exceptions being thrown.
I've tried tracing through the code to see where operationComplete should get called but it is complex and I've not quite figured it out.
There is a call to future = succeededFuture(channel); in SslHandler.wrap() but I don't know if that means anything. The future returned from wrap is never used elsewhere in the SslHandler code.
This sounds like a bug.. Would it be possible to write a simple "test-case" that shows the problem and open an issue at our github issue tracker[1].
Be sure to explain if it happens all the time or only sometimes etc..
[1] https://github.com/netty/netty/issues

WP7: Unable to catch FaultException in asynchronous calls to WCF service

I am currently developing a Windows Phone 7 App that calls a WCF web service which I also control. The service offers an operation that returns the current user's account information when given a user's login name and password:
[ServiceContract]
public interface IWindowsPhoneService
{
[OperationContract]
[FaultContract(typeof(AuthenticationFault))]
WsAccountInfo GetAccountInfo(string iamLogin, string password);
}
Of course, there is always the possibility of an authentication failure and I want to convey that information to the WP7 app. I could simply return null in that case, but I would like to convey the reason why the authentication failed (i.e. login unknown, wrong password, account blocked, ...).
This is my implementation of the above operation (for testing purposes, all it does is throwing an exception):
public WsAccountInfo GetAccountInfo(string iamLogin, string password)
{
AuthenticationFault fault = new AuthenticationFault();
throw new FaultException<AuthenticationFault>(fault);
}
Now, if I call this operation in my WP7 app, like this:
Global.Proxy.GetAccountInfoCompleted += new EventHandler<RemoteService.GetAccountInfoCompletedEventArgs>(Proxy_GetAccountInfoCompleted);
Global.Proxy.GetAccountInfoAsync(txbLogin.Text, txbPassword.Password);
void Proxy_GetAccountInfoCompleted(object sender, RemoteService.GetAccountInfoCompletedEventArgs e)
{
if (e.Error != null)
{
MessageBox.Show(e.Error.Message);
return;
}
}
The debugger breaks in Reference.cs, saying that FaultException'1 was unhandled, here:
public PhoneApp.RemoteService.WsAccountInfo EndGetAccountInfo(System.IAsyncResult result) {
object[] _args = new object[0];
PhoneApp.RemoteService.WsAccountInfo _result = ((PhoneApp.RemoteService.WsAccountInfo)(base.EndInvoke("GetAccountInfo", _args, result)));
return _result;
}
BEGIN UPDATE 1
When pressing F5, the exception bubbles to:
public PhoneApp.RemoteService.WsAccountInfo Result {
get {
base.RaiseExceptionIfNecessary(); // <-- here
return ((PhoneApp.RemoteService.WsAccountInfo)(this.results[0]));
}
}
and then to:
private void Application_UnhandledException(object sender, ApplicationUnhandledExceptionEventArgs e)
{
if (System.Diagnostics.Debugger.IsAttached)
{
// An unhandled exception has occurred; break into the debugger
System.Diagnostics.Debugger.Break();
}
}
After that, the app terminates (with or without the debugger).
END UPDATE 1
Now, I would love to catch the exception in my code, but I am never given the chance, since my Completed handler is never reached.
Based on similar questions on this site, I have already tried the following:
Re-add the service reference --> no change
Re-create a really simple WCF service from scratch --> same problem
Start the app without the debugger to keep the app from breaking into the debugger --> well, it doesn't break, but the exception is not caught either, the app simply exits
Tell VS 2010 not to break on FaultExceptions (Debug > Options) --> does not have any effect
wrap every line in my app in try { ... } catch (FaultException) {} or even catch (Exception) --> never called.
BEGIN UPDATE 2
What I actually would like to achieve is one of the following:
ideally, reach GetAccountInfoCompleted(...) and be able to retrieve the exception via the GetAccountInfoCompletedEventArgs.Error property, or
be able to catch the exception via a try/catch clause
END UPDATE 2
I would be grateful for any advice that would help me resolve this issue.
The framework seems to read your WsAccountInfo.Result property.
This rethrows the exception on client side.
But you should be the first to read this property.
I don't know your AuthenticationFault class, does it have a DataContractAttribute and is it a known type like the example in
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.servicemodel.faultcontractattribute.aspx ?
I believe I had the same problem. I resolved it by extending the proxy class and calling the private Begin.../End... methods within the Client object rather than using the public auto-generated methods on the Client object.
For more details, please see:
http://cbailiss.wordpress.com/2014/02/09/wcf-on-windows-phone-unable-to-catch-faultexception/

Retry mechanism on WCF operation call when channel in fautled state

I'm trying to find an elegant way to retry an operation when a WCF channel is in faulted state. I've tried using the Policy Injection AB to reconnect and retry the operation when a faulted state exception occurs on first call, but the PolicyInjection.Wrap method doesn't seem to like wrapping the TransparentProxy objects (proxy returned from ChannelFactory.CreateChannel).
Is there any other mechanism I could try or how could I try get the PIAB solution working correctly - any links, examples, etc. would be greatly appreciated.
Here is the code I was using that was failing:
var channelFactory = new ChannelFactory(endpointConfigurationName);
var proxy = channelFactory.CreateChannel(...);
proxy = PolicyInjection.Wrap<IService>(proxy);
Thank you.
I would rather use callback functions, something like this:
private SomeServiceClient proxy;
//This method invokes a service method and recreates the proxy if it's in a faulted state
private void TryInvoke(Action<SomeServiceClient> action)
{
try
{
action(this.proxy);
}
catch (FaultException fe)
{
if (proxy.State == CommunicationState.Faulted)
{
this.proxy.Abort();
this.proxy = new SomeServiceClient();
//Probably, there is a better way than recursion
TryInvoke(action);
}
}
}
//Any real method
private void Connect(Action<UserModel> callback)
{
TryInvoke(sc => callback(sc.Connect()));
}
And in your code you should call
ServiceProxy.Instance.Connect(user => MessageBox.Show(user.Name));
instead of
var user = ServiceProxy.Instance.Connect();
MessageBox.Show(user.Name);
Although my code uses proxy-class approach, you can write a similar code with Channels.
Thank you so much for your reply. What I ended up doing was creating a decorator type class that implemented the interface of my service, which then just wrapped the transparent proxy generated by the ChannelFactory. I was then able to use the Policy Injection Application Block to create a layer on top of this that would inject code into each operation call that would try the operation, and if a CommunicationObjectFaultedException occurred, would abort the channel, recreate it and retry the operation. It's working great now - although it works great, the only downside though is the wrapper class mentioned having to implement every service operation, but this was the only way I could use the PIAB as this made sense for me for in case I did find a way in future, it was easy enough to change just using interfaces.

Persisted properties - asynchronously

In classic ASP.NET I’d persist data extracted from a web service in base class property as follows:
private string m_stringData;
public string _stringData
{ get {
if (m_stringData==null)
{
//fetch data from my web service
m_stringData = ws.FetchData()
}
return m_stringData;
}
}
This way I could simply make reference to _stringData and know that I’d always get the data I was after (maybe sometimes I’d use Session state as a store instead of a private member variable).
In Silverlight with a WCF I might choose to use Isolated Storage as my persistance mechanism, but the service call can't be done like this, because a WCF service has to be called asynchronously.
How can I both invoke the service call and retrieve the response in one method?
Thanks,
Mark
In your method, invoke the service call asynchronously and register a callback that sets a flag. After you have invoked the method, enter a busy/wait loop checking the flag periodically until the flag is set indicating that the data has been returned. The callback should set the backing field for your method and you should be able to return it as soon as you detect the flag has been set indicating success. You'll also need to be concerned about failure. If it's possible to get multiple calls to your method from different threads, you'll also need to use some locking to make your code thread-safe.
EDIT
Actually, the busy/wait loop is probably not the way to go if the web service supports BeginGetData/EndGetData semantics. I had a look at some of my code where I do something similar and I use WaitOne to simply wait on the async result and then retrieve it. If your web service doesn't support this then throw a Thread.Sleep -- say for 50-100ms -- in your wait loop to give time for other processes to execute.
Example from my code:
IAsyncResult asyncResult = null;
try
{
asyncResult = _webService.BeginGetData( searchCriteria, null, null );
if (asyncResult.AsyncWaitHandle.WaitOne( _timeOut, false ))
{
result = _webService.EndGetData( asyncResult );
}
}
catch (WebException e)
{
...log the error, clean up...
}
Thanks for your help tvanfosson. I followed your code and have also found a pseudo similar solution that meets my needs exactly using a lambda expression:
private string m_stringData;
public string _stringData{
get
{
//if we don't have a list of departments, fetch from WCF
if (m_stringData == null)
{
StringServiceClient client = new StringServiceClient();
client.GetStringCompleted +=
(sender, e) =>
{
m_stringData = e.Result;
};
client.GetStringAsync();
}
return m_stringData;
}
}
EDIT
Oops... actually this doesn't work either :-(
I ended up making the calls Asynchronously and altering my programming logic to use MVVM pattern and more binding.