Which service to use

[Steven Blair]

I need to write a service and I am unsure which particular type I should
be using:

Key requirements:

1. Service must be able to run 24/7
2. Persist certain data items (logging to disk or DB is not permitted)

So after reading about, I see the following options available to me:

1. Windows Service
2. ASP.NET Web Service under II6
3. WCF Web Service II6/7
4. WCP Web Service under WAS

The Windows Service in my opinion seems the best option regarding
persistent data, but it's a lot more complicated to write certain
features you kinda get free with Web Services.

The Recycling is the really the big problem under IIS since I need to
keep values. Turning recycling off is not good enough either (touching
files etc cause a recycle)
Does WCF allow you to persist data, or does WAS allow this?

I don't mind learning new technology, so a pointer in the right
direction would be appreciated.

A final note, it doesn't need to be a HTTP interface if there are other
options. Only reason thats being used is II6 enforces this but we took
the trade off for the lovely features of II6 over writing a custom
Windows Service.
Thanks in advance.

Steven

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[Marc Gravell]

Can you describe where you want to persist things if not the disk or DB? And
what exactly does your service need to do?

I agree that a Windows service is a better option for 24/7 if the same
process must stay running - but if the service is intended for comms (as
your WCF comments imply), then note that hosting WCF in a Windows service is
fairly simple.

Re http, again WCF offers various transports and protocols - http is one of
them, but others are available simply by changing the configuration.

Marc

[Steven Blair]

I need to presist ceratins fields in memory. Due to other factors, I am
not allowed to store these values on disk or Database.
Protocol aint too much of an issue.
I would prefer to keep using IIS, but the persistent data really is a
problem. At the moment, we have the web service ring fenced on it's
server with recycle disabled and no one can get access (ie to touch
files or update) but it's a critical process and really need another
option.

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[Marc Gravell]

So use a win-service an WCF for the simple network access. You can get
a console example of this in VS; just move the code to a service app,
job done.

But I reckon you are going to have a lot of problems. In-memory
storage is (by definition) volatile. Computers reboot / fail etc. And
it doesn't scale worth a damn. Best of luck ;-p

Marc

[=?ISO-8859-1?Q?Arne_Vajh=F8j?=]

Steven Blair wrote:

I need to presist ceratins fields in memory. Due to other factors, I am
not allowed to store these values on disk or Database.

It is probably just a terminology problem.

Many of us consider persist=write to disk.

Arne