INFO: HTTP GET and HTTP POST Are Disabled by Default

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INFO: HTTP GET and HTTP POST Are Disabled by Default

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Article ID	:	819267
Last Review	:	April 24, 2003
Revision	:	1.0

SUMMARY

This article discusses changes in the .NET Framework 1.1 that affect the HTTP GET method and the HTTP POST method on a Web server. This article also describes workarounds for this new functionality.

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MORE INFORMATION

The .NET-connected Web services support HTTP GET, HTTP POST and SOAP protocols. By default, in .NET Framework 1.0, all three protocols are enabled. By default, in .NET Framework 1.1, HTTP GET and HTTP POST are both disabled. This is for security reasons.

Applications that use HTTP GET or HTTP POST to invoke a Web service fail when the Web service is upgraded to .NET Framework 1.1. These applications receive a

System.Net.WebException

error message that indicates the request format is unrecognized.

Note that the HTML-based test form uses HTTP POST, and therefore the HTML-based test form does not work in .NET Framework 1.1. This is true except on localhost as noted below.

The .NET Framework 1.1 defines a new protocol that is named HttpPostLocalhost. By default, this new protocol is enabled. This protocol permits invoking Web services that use HTTP POST requests from applications on the same computer. This is true provided the POST URL uses http://localhost, not http://hostname. This permits Web service developers to use the HTML-based test form to invoke the Web service from the same computer where the Web service resides.

When you try to access the Web service from a remote computer you do not see the Invoke button. And, you receive the following error message:

The test form is only available for requests from the local machine

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Workaround

HTTP GET and HTTP POST may be enabled by editing the Web.config file for the vroot where the Web service resides. The following configuration enables both HTTP GET and HTTP POST:

<configuration>
<system.web>
<webServices>
<protocols>
<add name="HttpGet"/>
<add name="HttpPost"/>
</protocols>
</webServices>
</system.web>
</configuration>

Alternatively, you can enable these protocols for all Web services on the computer by editing the <protocols> section in Machine.config. The following example enables HTTP GET, HTTP POST, and also SOAP and HTTP POST from localhost:

<protocols>
<add name="HttpSoap"/>
<add name="HttpPost"/>
<add name="HttpGet"/>
<add name="HttpPostLocalhost"/>
<!-- Documentation enables the documentation/test pages -->
<add name="Documentation"/>
</protocols>

 

REFERENCES

For more information about Web services configuration, see the <protocols> Element in the .NET Framework 1.1 documentation: http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/cpgenref/html/gngrfprotocols.asp (http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/cpgenref/html/gngrfprotocols.asp)

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