"System.Net.WebException: The remote name could not be resolved" e

I have a ClickOnce application that uses web services. This works from every
machine we can test it on; however, a customer has a laptop that fails with
an exception (relevant portion of stack trace below - I have replaced the
real web server address with a dummy value).
---
System.Net.WebException: The remote name could not be resolved:
'www.somewebserver.com'
at System.Net.HttpWebRequest.GetRequestStream()
at System.Web.Services.Protocols.SoapHttpClientProtoc ol.Invoke(String
methodName, Object[] parameters)
---
Now, the same server also hosts a web site and the user can successfully
navigate to the web site in their web browser and they can launch the
ClickOnce application hosted there, so I know their machine can see the
server, it's just the web service that it doesn't seem to be able to connect
to.

Does anybody have any suggestions as to what the problem may be or what
avenues of exploration could be explored?

I have had the customer connect from several different places, using
different internet connections, with the same outcome each time (i.e.
navigating to website OK, using web service not OK). They do not seem to have
a proxy server set in their internet options, and I am unsure what would
allow a web browser to see the server, but prevent a web service from doing
the same.

Hi Zoodor,

If I understood correctly you have a client-server application that uses a
web service. Your client part is installed on the client's laptop. Am I
understanding right?

Resolving computer names can be a DNS server problem.
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tuto...utorial51.html

Can you check the host file on the client computer, to see if your computer
ip address is mapped to your computer name? I am wondering in case this will
be a problem if accessing the web will not work either.

Just an idea...

Eugen
"Zoodor" wrote:

Thankyou for your reply Eugen.
Yes, this is correct.
I am getting the customer to replace the hostname in the configuration file
that specifies the web service's location with the actual IP address to see
if this resolves the issue. If it does not, I shall ask him to check his
hosts file.

Thanks again.

Mark

Since only the webservice that is not accessible on an otherwise accessible
site, I would assume it's not the hosts file. Hosts would block an entire
domain, not just portions of it.

Where is the information regarding what server to access stored? Do you have
a config file saved somewhere on the client? Are you storing an IP address or
a name?

Second attempt at posting an answer :-)
If I'm correct, a hosts redirection would block an entire domain. If that
were the case, your client wouldn't be able to see the webserver at all let
alone the webservice.

That leads me to the question: where do you store the information about
connecting to the server - do you have a local config file? Are you storing
an IP or an HTML address?

Adrian

"Zoodor" wrote:

Thanks for your reply Adrian.
Yes, there is a local config file that specifies the server address. I'm not
sure what you mean by an HTML address, but it is specified in the form
http://www.example.com/VirtualDirect...rviceName.asmx. I have asked the
customer to replace the server address (e.g. www.example.com) with its actual
IP address and am currently waiting to hear the result of trying this.

Mark

Mark,

I'm hitting what appears to be the same issue. Did you ever find a
solution?

Thanks!