How should a corporation support WCF duplex messaging?
Sean Cicoria has a reasonably well written intro on the Duplex Messaging feature in WCF. He lays out the key configuration requirement to enable duplex messaging: one and only one port must be configured through the client firewall for all WCF applications that want to use it.
I believe the clear guidance, then, is:
- Use client/server duplex messaging in
- corporate situations (not internet)
- where you "own the desktop"
- the desktop will be XP SP2 or better
- you need duplex messaging (notifications, long running job interface, etc.).
- If you "own the desktop," part of your migration to WinFX is to determine the WCF receive port and enable it on all the clients (with appropriate security settings, of course).
- Roll out WinFX to servers with duplex messaging port enabled.
- Use server/server duplex messaging freely.