WCF, out of memory exception while serializing huge amount of data - wcf

Question

Basically, I am fetching data from SQL Server. If I select all data (which is about 80000 rows), then I am getting the following error (Receiving 100 rows is working fine)
Exception of type 'System.OutOfMemoryException' was thrown. <br/>
Description: An unhandled exception occurred during the execution of the current web request. Please review the stack trace for more information about the error and where it originated in the code. <br/>
Exception Details: System.OutOfMemoryException: Exception of type 'System.OutOfMemoryException' was thrown.
Stack Trace:
[OutOfMemoryException: Exception of type 'System.OutOfMemoryException' was thrown.]
System.Text.StringBuilder.ToString() +29
System.IO.StringWriter.ToString() +14
System.Net.WebUtility.HtmlEncode(String value) +110
System.Web.Util.HttpEncoder.HtmlEncode(String value) +54
System.Web.UI.HtmlControls.HtmlContainerControl.set_InnerText(String value) +24
PerformanceCompare._Default.Page_Load(Object sender, EventArgs e) in C:\Users\KK33562\Documents\Visual Studio 2010\Projects\TestWebService\PerformanceCompare\Default.aspx.cs:34
System.Web.Util.CalliHelper.EventArgFunctionCaller(IntPtr fp, Object o, Object t, EventArgs e) +14
System.Web.Util.CalliEventHandlerDelegateProxy.Callback(Object sender, EventArgs e) +35
System.Web.UI.Control.OnLoad(EventArgs e) +91
System.Web.UI.Control.LoadRecursive() +74
System.Web.UI.Page.ProcessRequestMain(Boolean includeStagesBeforeAsyncPoint, Boolean includeStagesAfterAsyncPoint) +2207
Web.config (Client Side)
<system.serviceModel>
<behaviors>
<endpointBehaviors>
<behavior name="endpointbehaviour">
<dataContractSerializer maxItemsInObjectGraph="2147483647"/>
</behavior>
</endpointBehaviors>
</behaviors>
<bindings>
<basicHttpBinding>
<binding name="BasicHttpBinding_IService1" closeTimeout="00:50:00"
openTimeout="00:50:00" receiveTimeout="00:50:00" sendTimeout="00:50:00"
allowCookies="false" bypassProxyOnLocal="false" hostNameComparisonMode="StrongWildcard"
maxBufferSize="2147483647" maxBufferPoolSize="524288" maxReceivedMessageSize="2147483647"
messageEncoding="Text" textEncoding="utf-8" transferMode="Buffered"
useDefaultWebProxy="true">
<readerQuotas maxDepth="32" maxStringContentLength="2147483647" maxArrayLength="2147483647"
maxBytesPerRead="4096" maxNameTableCharCount="16384" />
<security mode="None">
<transport clientCredentialType="None" proxyCredentialType="None"
realm="" />
<message clientCredentialType="UserName" algorithmSuite="Default" />
</security>
</binding>
</basicHttpBinding>
</bindings>
<client>
<endpoint address="http://localhost:53268/Service1.svc" binding="basicHttpBinding"
bindingConfiguration="BasicHttpBinding_IService1" contract="WCFService.IService1"
name="BasicHttpBinding_IService1" behaviorConfiguration="endpointbehaviour" />
</client>
</system.serviceModel>
Web.config (Server-Side)
<system.serviceModel>
<behaviors>
<serviceBehaviors>
<behavior name="TestWCF.Service1Behavior">
<dataContractSerializer maxItemsInObjectGraph="2147483646"/>
<serviceMetadata httpGetEnabled="true"/>
<serviceDebug includeExceptionDetailInFaults="true"/>
</behavior>
</serviceBehaviors>
</behaviors>
<services>
<service name="TestWCF.Service1" behaviorConfiguration="TestWCF.Service1Behavior">
<endpoint address="" binding="basicHttpBinding" contract="TestWCF.IService1" bindingConfiguration="BasicHttpBinding_IService1">
<identity>
<dns value="localhost"/>
</identity>
</endpoint>
<endpoint address="mex" binding="mexHttpBinding" contract="IMetadataExchange"/>
</service>
</services>
<bindings>
<basicHttpBinding>
<binding name="BasicHttpBinding_IService1" maxBufferSize="2147483647" maxReceivedMessageSize="2147483647" openTimeout="00:50:00" closeTimeout="00:50:00" sendTimeout="00:50:00" receiveTimeout="00:10:00">
<readerQuotas maxDepth="2147483647" maxStringContentLength="2147483647" maxArrayLength="2147483647"
maxBytesPerRead="2147483647" maxNameTableCharCount="2147483647" />
</binding>
</basicHttpBinding>
</bindings>
</system.serviceModel>

Answer 1

If you're returning 80K rows from your service then I think you'd better get rid of the service all together. Just get the client to access the DB directly and then they can pull all the rows they need from the DB.
EDIT
Introducing a service boundary where it's not necessary is a very common error, and one I see happening more and more. It would be cleaner in most cases to have the client call the database directly using NHibernate or even ADO and a stored proc or view.
If your client can't physically see the database on the network then you may have to use a service.