Configuring Applications and Services
This section describes the various options within the AppFabric management tools for configuring a WCF or WF service and an application built upon those services. This section includes topics for using the AppFabric extensions in IIS Manager to configure a service and an application, and other topics for using AppFabric cmdlets to do the same. The AppFabric Configuration dialog box in IIS Manager provides a single location for setting many facets of the configuration of a WCF or WF service. AppFabric cmdlets enable you to set the configuration of a service or an application from the command line or in an automated script.
In AppFabric, a service and an application are defined as follows:
Service: An autonomous unit of execution (or an executable component of an application) that exposes contracts through endpoints. The endpoints can be invoked using message-based protocols.
Application: A collection of services that accomplishes a business goal. In AppFabric, you host applications that are implemented as WCF and WF services.
When you set the configuration of a service or application using these tools, you make changes to Web.config files (and for some settings, the ApplicationHost.config file). For more information about configuration files, see Configuration Process in Windows Server AppFabric.
Configuring .NET Framework 3.x Services
AppFabric makes use of the .NET Framework 4 improvements in WCF, WF, and other areas to provide a robust hosting environment for services. As a result, AppFabric does not provide any capabilities for editing services hosted in an application pool that is not .NET Framework 4. The Configure action is disabled in the Action pane for any non-.NET Framework 4 hosted service. For the sake of compatibility, the user interface does permit users to configure .NET Framework 3.x services that are hosted in .NET Framework 4 application pools.
Warning
When you modify configuration files of .NET Framework 3.x service applications, improper settings may prevent them from instantiating in a .NET Framework 4 application pool.