Dumping data reported by client to server to a Log file - wcf

I'm using WCF services in the client application for transfering data from client to server and vice-versa. I'm looking for a mechanism to log the data sent to server into the log file on client machine. I looked into the WCF library but could not find any code which serializes the WCF requests. Logging no issues, I use N-Log for that but I don't find any built in function which gives the webrequest data.
My question is, is there any built in support for getting the webrequest details?

The built in option is called Message logging but this option uses its own way to log messages using standard .NET trace listeners.
If you want custom message logger you have to implement your own logging endpoint behavior with IClientMessageInspector.

Related

WCF Message inspectors concurrency model

I have implemented message layer security using message inspector mechanism in a wcf service.
On the client side, in IClientMessageInspector.BeforeSendRequest I add an authentication header.
On the service side, in IDispatchMessageInspector.AfterReceiveRequest I inspect the authentication header in the message. If it is not found or as expected, I throw a SecurityException and try to log it to a database.
Here comes the interesting part. When logging to database, I try to read from this webservice again (this is web service which provides configuration info).
This is where the service stalls/deadlocks. I can see that the call to read configuration (when logging to db) is made, but I don't receive the call on the service. I keep getting a timedout exception every time.
After a little googling, I came across this post, which mentions that message inspectors are synchronous in nature. If that is so, how can I achieve what I am after?

How to use BasicHttpBinding without using sessions in WCF? Getting error about session support

I have a WinForm app which uses WCF to call a WCF service. I am trying to troubleshoot an issue and need to look at the wcf trace file without any encryption. So I have WCF endpoint set to use BasicHttpBinding and my service contract is set for SessionMode = SessionMode.NotAllowed.
However I keep getting an error "Contract requires Session, but Binding 'BasicHttpBinding' doesn't support it or isn't configured properly to support it".
I don't want to use sessions. Why does it think I want to use sessions?
OR how do I get the messages to go on the wire where I can see objects and their properties in clear text in the trace file?
BasicHttpBinding never uses session. There is something incorrectly configured in your code (or you didn't correctly update service reference). To see messages even if security is enabled use Message logging.

How do I access a workflow service in silverlight?

I have one worflow service named GetDataWorkflowService.xamlx that I want to use in Silverlight.
When I add a service reference to my application, it gives a message 'This Operation is not supported for the relative URI.' It still adds the reference, however.
When I use the referece:
Servicelient proxy=new ServiceClient();
proxy.GetDataCompleted += (o, a) => Debug.WriteLine("Result is " + a.Result);
proxy.GetDataAsync(123);
I get the following error:
An error occurred while trying to make a request to URI 'http://localhost:1234/GetDataWorkflowService.xamlx'. This could be due to attempting to access a service in a cross-domain way without a proper cross-domain policy in place, or a policy that is unsuitable for SOAP services. You may need to contact the owner of the service to publish a cross-domain policy file and to ensure it allows SOAP-related HTTP headers to be sent. This error may also be caused by using internal types in the web service proxy without using the InternalsVisibleToAttribute attribute. Please see the inner exception for more details.
I don't understand what's happening.
A few things:
What happens if you use the WCF Test Client to call GetData()? Do you get an error or does that work just fine. If you get an error here concentrate on the server parts.
What happens if you set a service reference from a console application and call your workflow service. Same error or does that work?
Is the workflow service hosted in the same web site as the Silverlight client? If not do you have the cross domain policy files setup correctly.
Assuming the WCF Test Client works. Open up fiddler and compare the request from your Silverlight client with that from the WCF Test Client. What is different?
Enable tracing on the server to see if there are any exceptions or warnings that might provide more insight to what is wrong.
Check your startup project to be sure you are starting a web project and not the Silverlight project. For more details see Troubleshooting Workflow Services / Silverlight on my blog

Monitor SOAP messages and save it into a file

I am working on Apache Tomcat 6 and Axis2 for web services.
I want to monitor SOAP messages which are exchanged with client and server and save the data into a file.
How can I do it?
Storm is a test client for SOAP services.
To capture the traffic between your client and the server, you could use a proxy like Fiddler.
There is an example in modules samples (in samples/userguide) describing this case.
Personally I found simpler just to add a logging code in my generated <...MessageReceiverInOut> class. Just dumping out input/output envelopes for my particular service.

Is there a service for monitoring secured WCF endpoints in the same way that HTTP monitoring services do?

A service I have in WCF occasionally goes down due a problem with a COM component. While I am troubleshooting I would like to setup another host to make regular calls to this service to monitor availability.
It is slightly more complicated that a simple HTTP call though as the service is secured by SSL and WCF authentication (username / password). I'd also like to be able to parse successful calls to see if they return warning / fail states from my code.
Would you recommend any monitoring providers for this or is it beyond the simple monitoring they normally provide?
Regards
Ryan
You could enable WCF logging and auditing facilities either on the server or the client to produce a log of all traffic. Then you can analyze the results using the WCF Service Trace Viewer Tool provided in .NET Framework 3.0 and 3.5 SDK.
In your situation I would probably enable logging only at the message level. This will reduce the amount of information that ends up in the log file and will help you focus on analyzing the data that's actually being sent back and forth from the services.