Introduction

This training kit is designed for developers who plan to take the Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) exam, Exam 70-503, as well as for developers who need to know how to develop Windows Communication Foundation (WCF)–based applications, using Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5. It’s assumed that, before using this training kit, you already have a working knowledge of Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Visual Basic or C# (or both).

By using this training kit, you will learn how to do the following:

• Create and configure a WCF service.

• Implement a client for a WCF service, using different transport protocols.

• Provide security to a WCF application, using transport-level and message-level protection.

• Extend WCF by using custom behaviors, including message inspectors, parameter inspectors, and operation invokers.

• Perform end-to-end (E2E) tracing on a WCF application.

P3.1. Hardware Requirements

The following hardware is required to complete the practice exercises:

• A computer with a 1.6-gigahertz (GHz) or faster processor.

• A minimum of 384 megabytes (MB) of random access memory (RAM).

• A minimum of 2.2 gigabytes (GB) of available hard disk space is required to install Microsoft Visual Studio 2008. Additionally, 75 MB of available hard disk space is required to install the labs.

• A DVD-ROM drive.

• A 1024 × 768 or higher resolution display with 256 colors or more.

• A keyboard and Microsoft mouse or compatible pointing device.

P3.2. Software Requirements

The following software is required to complete the practice exercises:

• One of the following operating systems:

  • Windows Vista (any edition except Windows Vista Starter)

  • Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or later (any edition except Windows XP Starter)

  • Microsoft Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1 or later (any edition)

  • Windows Server 2003 R2 or later (any edition)

  • Windows Server 2008

• Microsoft Visual Studio 2008

---

Note:

A 90-day evaluation edition of Visual Studio 2008 Professional edition is included on a DVD that comes with this training kit.

---

P3.3. Using the CD and DVD

A companion CD and an evaluation software DVD are included with this training kit. The companion CD contains the following:

• Practice Tests You can reinforce your understanding of how to create WCF applications in Visual Studio 2008 with .NET Framework 3.5 by using electronic practice tests that you can customize to meet your needs from the pool of Lesson Review questions in this book. Alternatively, you can practice for the 70-503 certification exam by using tests created from a pool of 200 realistic exam questions, which will give you enough different practice tests to ensure that you’re prepared.

• Practice Files Most chapters in this training kit include code and practice files that are associated with the lab exercises at the end of every lesson. For some exercises, you are instructed to open a project prior to starting the exercise. For other exercises, you create a project on your own and then reference a completed project on the CD if you have a problem following the exercise procedures. Practice files can be installed to your hard drive by simply copying them to the desired directory. After copying the practice files from the CD to your hard drive, you must clear the Read Only attribute to work with the files on your hard drive.

  The instructions in an exercise will look like the following:

  1. Navigate to the <InstallHome>/Chapter8/Lesson1/Exercise1/<language>/Before directory and double-click the Exercise1.sln file to open the solution in Visual Studio.

     In the path described here, the <InstallHome> directory is the one into which you copy the sample files from the CD.

  Many samples require that you either run Visual Studio or the solution’s executable files with Administrator privileges. Also be aware that antivirus software can interfere with some samples. As you work through an exercise, you are expected to add appropriate Imports/using statements as necessary.

• eBook An electronic version (eBook) of this training kit is included for use at times when you don’t want to carry the printed book with you. The eBook is in Portable Document Format (PDF), and you can view it by using Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader. You can use the eBook to cut and paste code as you work through the exercises. Command-line commands should be typed directly into a command prompt, because pasting these commands sometimes causes the hyphen (-) to be misinterpreted in the command prompt.

• Webcasts Several webcasts are mentioned throughout this book. The companion CD has links that will take you directly to the webcasts.

• Sample Chapters Sample chapters from other Microsoft Press titles on Windows Communication Foundation. These chapters are in PDF format.

• Evaluation software The evaluation software DVD contains a 90-day evaluation edition of Visual Studio 2008 Professional edition in case you want to use it instead of a full version of Visual Studio 2008 to complete the exercises in this book.

Digital Content for Digital Book Readers If you bought a digital-only edition of this book, you can enjoy select content from the print edition’s companion CD. Visit http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=124849 to get your downloadable content. This content is always up-to-date and available to all readers.

P3.3.1. How to Install the Practice Tests

To install the practice test software from the companion CD to your hard disk, perform the following steps:

P3.3.2. How to Use the Practice Tests

To start the practice test software, follow these steps:

P3.3.2.1. Lesson Review Options

When you start a lesson review, the Custom Mode dialog box appears, enabling you to configure your test. You can click OK to accept the defaults, or you can customize the number of questions you want, the way the practice test software works, which exam objectives you want the questions to relate to, and whether you want your lesson review to be timed. If you are retaking a test, you can select whether you want to see all the questions again or only those questions you previously skipped or answered incorrectly.

After you click OK, your lesson review starts. You can take the test as follows:

• To take the test, answer the questions and use the Next, Previous, and Go To buttons to move from question to question.

• After you answer an individual question, if you want to see which answers are correct, along with an explanation of each correct answer, click Explanation.

• If you would rather wait until the end of the test to see how you did, answer all the questions, and then click Score Test. You see a summary of the exam objectives that you chose and the percentage of questions you got right overall and per objective. You can print a copy of your test, review your answers, or retake the test.

P3.3.2.2. Practice Test Options

When you start a practice test, you can choose whether to take the test in Certification Mode, Study Mode, or Custom Mode.

• Certification Mode Closely resembles the experience of taking a certification exam. The test has a set number of questions, it is timed, and you cannot pause and restart the timer.

• Study Mode Creates an untimed test in which you can review the correct answers and the explanations after you answer each question.

• Custom Mode Gives you full control over the test options so that you can customize them as you like.

In all modes, the user interface you see when taking the test is basically the same, but different options are enabled or disabled, depending on the mode. The main options are discussed in the previous section, Section P3.3.2.1.

When you review your answer to an individual practice test question, a "References" section is provided. This section lists where in the training kit you can find the information that relates to that question, and it provides links to other sources of information. After you click Test Results to score your entire practice test, you can click the Learning Plan tab to see a list of references for every objective.

P3.3.3. How to Uninstall the Practice Tests

To uninstall the practice test software for a training kit, use the Add Or Remove Programs option in Control Panel in Windows.

P3.4. Microsoft Certified Professional Program

Microsoft certifications provide the best method to prove your command of current Microsoft products and technologies. The exams and corresponding certifications are developed to validate your mastery of critical competencies as you design and develop or implement and support solutions with Microsoft products and technologies. Computer professionals who become Microsoft-certified are recognized as experts and are sought after industrywide. Certification brings a variety of benefits to the individual and to employers and organizations.

---

Note:

For a full list of Microsoft certifications, go to http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/default.mspx.

---

P3.5. Technical Support

Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this book and the contents of the companion CD. If you have comments, questions, or ideas regarding this book or the companion CD, please send them to Microsoft Press by using either of the following methods:

E-mail: tkinput@microsoft.com

Postal Mail:

Microsoft Press Attn: MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-503): Microsoft^® .NET Framework 3.5—Windows^® Communication Foundation Editor One Microsoft Way Redmond, WA, 98052-6399

For additional support information regarding this book and the CD-ROM (including answers to commonly asked questions about installation and use), visit the Microsoft Press Technical Support Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/learning/support/books. To connect directly to the Microsoft Knowledge Base and enter a query, visit http://support.microsoft.com/search. For support information regarding Microsoft software, please connect to http://support.microsoft.com.

P3.6. Evaluation Edition Software

The 90-day evaluation edition provided with this training kit is not the full retail product and is provided only for the purposes of training and evaluation. Microsoft and Microsoft Technical Support do not support this evaluation edition.

Information about any issues relating to the use of this evaluation edition with this training kit is posted in the Support section of the Microsoft Press Web site (http://www.microsoft.com/learning/support/books/). For information about ordering the full version of any Microsoft software, please call Microsoft Sales at (800) 426-9400 or visit http://www.microsoft.com.