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Configure WCF and WF for Application: Auto-Start Tab

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Use the Auto-Start tab in the Configure WCF and WF for Application dialog box to configure auto-start for an application. When auto-start is enabled, hosted WF or WCF services within an application are instantiated automatically when the IIS service is started by the operating system. The services within the application will automatically start when its server is started. You can configure all services within an application to start, or a subset of services within an application.

If you enable auto-start for an application, the auto-start feature will work only if you also enable auto-start for the application pool used by the application

Note

The auto-start configuration feature is only available on Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 and above. If your system has neither of these operating systems installed, you will not be able to configure auto-start unless you upgrade to one of them.

Note

If you have connected remotely at the site or application level, you will not be able to enable or disable auto-start for the application, because the auto-start settings for an application are included in the ApplicationHost.config file, which you can only access if you have connected at the server level.

Dialog Fields

Field

Description

Enable auto-start on the application pool (in Application Pool Settings area)

Click to enable auto-start for the application pool associated with the application. This operation will restart all applications in the application pool.

Disabled (in Auto-start Mode area)

Select Disabled to disable auto-start for all services within the application. No service will auto-start.

Enabled (in Auto-start Mode area)

Select Enabled to enable auto-start for all services within the application. All services will auto-start.

Custom (in Auto-start Mode area)

Select Custom to enable auto-start for each service in the application separately. For more information, see Configure Service: Auto-Start Tab.

Enabling auto-start for all services in the application sets the serviceStartupMode attribute for the application in the ApplicationHost.config file to a value of “all”. Setting the mode to “Custom” sets the serviceStartupMode attribute to a value of “custom”. Either of these actions adds serviceAutoStartEnabled set to a value of “true” in the ApplicationHost.config file if the application is already running (i.e., protocols are enabled). If the application is not running, serviceAutoStartEnabled is set to false (so that an application that was intentionally stopped is not accidentally started).

Enabling auto-start for an application pool sets the startMode attribute for the application pool in the ApplicationHost.config file to a value of “AlwaysRunning”.