Airbrake Blog

.NET Exceptions - System.ServiceModel.EndpointNotFoundException

Written by Frances Banks | Sep 29, 2017 8:00:51 PM

Making our way through our detailed .NET Exception Handling series, today we'll dive into the System.ServiceModel.EndpointNotFoundException. The EndpointNotFoundException is thrown when something goes awry while trying to connect to a Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) service-oriented application.

In this article we'll examine the EndpointNotFoundException in more detail by looking at where it sits in the larger .NET exception hierarchy. We'll also look at some functional C# code samples that illustrate how a basic service can be setup, and how invalid connections to such a WCF service might lead to EndpointNotFoundExceptions, so let's get crackin'!

The Technical Rundown

All .NET exceptions are derived classes of the System.Exception base class, or derived from another inherited class therein. The full exception hierarchy of this error is:

Full Code Sample

Below is the full code sample we'll be using in this article. It can be copied and pasted if you'd like to play with the code yourself and see how everything works.

// Program.cs

using System;

using AIrbrake.ServiceModel.EndpointNotFoundException.MyServiceReference;

using Utility;

namespace AIrbrake.ServiceModel.EndpointNotFoundException
 {
 internal class Program
 {
 internal static void Main(string[] args)
 {
 Logging.LineSeparator("GetDataTest(0)");
 GetDataTest(0);


 Logging.LineSeparator("GetDataAsyncTest(0)");
 GetDataAsyncTest(0);
 }


 internal static void GetDataTest(int value)
 {
 try
 {
 var client = new MyServiceClient();
 client.Open();
 var result = client.GetData(value);
 Logging.Log(result);
 }
 catch (System.ServiceModel.EndpointNotFoundException exception)
 {
 // Output expected EndpointNotFoundExceptions.
 Logging.Log(exception);
 }
 catch (Exception exception)
 {
 // Output unexpected Exceptions.
 Logging.Log(exception, false);
 }
 }


 internal static void GetDataAsyncTest(int value)
 {
 try
 {
 var client = new MyServiceClient();
 client.Open();
 var result = client.GetDataAsync(value);
 Logging.Log(result);
 }
 catch (System.ServiceModel.EndpointNotFoundException exception)
 {
 // Output expected EndpointNotFoundExceptions.
 Logging.Log(exception);
 }
 catch (Exception exception)
 {
 // Output unexpected Exceptions.
 Logging.Log(exception, false);
 }
 }
 }
 }
 
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>

<!-- App.config -->

<configuration>

    <startup>

        <supportedRuntime version="v4.0" sku=".NETFramework,Version=v4.7" />

    </startup>

    <system.serviceModel>

        <bindings>

            <basicHttpBinding>

                <binding name="BasicHttpBinding_IMyService" />

            </basicHttpBinding>

        </bindings>

        <client>

            <endpoint address="http://localhost:62792/MyService.svc" binding="basicHttpBinding"

                bindingConfiguration="BasicHttpBinding_IMyService" contract="MyServiceReference.IMyService"

                name="BasicHttpBinding_IMyService" />

        </client>

    </system.serviceModel>

</configuration>


// IMyService.cs

using System.Runtime.Serialization;

using System.ServiceModel;

namespace MyService
 {
 [ServiceContract]
 public interface IMyService
 {
 [OperationContract]
 string GetData(int value);


 [OperationContract]
 CompositeType GetDataUsingDataContract(CompositeType composite);
 }


 [DataContract]
 public class CompositeType
 {
 [DataMember]
 public bool BoolValue { get; set; } = true;


 [DataMember]
 public string StringValue { get; set; } = "Hello ";
 }
 }
 
// MyService.svc

using System;

namespace MyService
 {
 public class MyService : IMyService
 {
 public string GetData(int value)
 {
 return $"You entered: {value}";
 }


 public CompositeType GetDataUsingDataContract(CompositeType composite)
 {
 if (composite == null)
 {
 throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(composite));
 }
 if (composite.BoolValue)
 {
 composite.StringValue += "Suffix";
 }
 return composite;
 }
 }
 }
 
// <Utility/>Logging.cs

using System;

using System.Diagnostics;

using System.Xml.Serialization;

namespace Utility
 {
 /// <summary>
 /// Houses all logging methods for various debug outputs.
 /// </summary>
 public static class Logging
 {
 private const char SeparatorCharacterDefault = '-';
 private const int SeparatorLengthDefault = 40;


 /// <summary>
 /// Determines type of output to be generated.
 /// </summary>
 public enum OutputType
 {
 /// <summary>
 /// Default output.
 /// </summary>
 Default,
 /// <summary>
 /// Output includes timestamp prefix.
 /// </summary>
 Timestamp
 }


 /// <summary>
 /// Outputs to <see cref="Debug.WriteLine(String)"/>.
 /// </summary>
 /// <param name="value">Value to be output to log.</param>
 /// <param name="outputType">Output type.</param>
 public static void Log(string value, OutputType outputType = OutputType.Default)
 {
 Output(value, outputType);
 }


 /// <summary>
 /// Outputs to <see cref="Debug.WriteLine(String)"/>.
 /// </summary>
 /// <param name="value">Value to be output to log.</param>
 /// <param name="arg0"></param>
 public static void Log(string value, object arg0)
 {
 Debug.WriteLine(value, arg0);
 }


 /// <summary>
 /// Outputs to <see cref="Debug.WriteLine(String)"/>.
 /// </summary>
 /// <param name="value">Value to be output to log.</param>
 /// <param name="arg0"></param>
 /// <param name="arg1"></param>
 public static void Log(string value, object arg0, object arg1)
 {
 Debug.WriteLine(value, arg0, arg1);
 }


 /// <summary>
 /// Outputs to <see cref="Debug.WriteLine(String)"/>.
 /// </summary>
 /// <param name="value">Value to be output to log.</param>
 /// <param name="arg0"></param>
 /// <param name="arg1"></param>
 /// <param name="arg2"></param>
 public static void Log(string value, object arg0, object arg1, object arg2)
 {
 Debug.WriteLine(value, arg0, arg1, arg2);
 }


 /// <summary>
 /// When <see cref="Exception"/> parameter is passed, modifies the output to indicate
 /// if <see cref="Exception"/> was expected, based on passed in `expected` parameter.
 /// <para>Outputs the full <see cref="Exception"/> type and message.</para>
 /// </summary>
 /// <param name="exception">The <see cref="Exception"/> to output.</param>
 /// <param name="expected">Boolean indicating if <see cref="Exception"/> was expected.</param>
 /// <param name="outputType">Output type.</param>
 public static void Log(Exception exception, bool expected = true, OutputType outputType = OutputType.Default)
 {
 var value = $"[{(expected ? "EXPECTED" : "UNEXPECTED")}] {exception}: {exception.Message}";


 Output(value, outputType);
 }


 private static void Output(string value, OutputType outputType = OutputType.Default)
 {
 Debug.WriteLine(outputType == OutputType.Timestamp
 ? $"[{StopwatchProxy.Instance.Stopwatch.Elapsed}] {value}"
 : value);
 }


 /// <summary>
 /// Outputs to <see cref="Debug.WriteLine(Object)"/>.
 ///
 /// ObjectDumper: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/852181/c-printing-all-properties-of-an-object&amp;lt;/cref
 /// </summary>
 /// <param name="value">Value to be output to log.</param>
 /// <param name="outputType">Output type.</param>
 public static void Log(object value, OutputType outputType = OutputType.Default)
 {
 if (value is IXmlSerializable)
 {
 Debug.WriteLine(value);
 }
 else
 {
 Debug.WriteLine(outputType == OutputType.Timestamp
 ? $"[{StopwatchProxy.Instance.Stopwatch.Elapsed}] {ObjectDumper.Dump(value)}"
 : ObjectDumper.Dump(value));
 }
 }


 /// <summary>
 /// Outputs a dashed line separator to <see cref="Debug.WriteLine(String)"/>.
 /// </summary>
 /// <param name="length">Total separator length.</param>
 /// <param name="char">Separator character.</param>
 public static void LineSeparator(int length = SeparatorLengthDefault, char @char = SeparatorCharacterDefault)
 {
 Debug.WriteLine(new string(@char, length));
 }


 /// <summary>
 /// Outputs a dashed line separator to <see cref="Debug.WriteLine(String)"/>,
 /// with inserted text centered in the middle.
 /// </summary>
 /// <param name="insert">Inserted text to be centered.</param>
 /// <param name="length">Total separator length.</param>
 /// <param name="char">Separator character.</param>
 public static void LineSeparator(string insert, int length = SeparatorLengthDefault, char @char = SeparatorCharacterDefault)
 {
 // Default output to insert.
 var output = insert;


 if (insert.Length < length)
 {
 // Update length based on insert length, less a space for margin.
 length -= insert.Length + 2;
 // Halve the length and floor left side.
 var left = (int) Math.Floor((decimal) (length / 2));
 var right = left;
 // If odd number, add dropped remainder to right side.
 if (length % 2 != 0) right += 1;


 // Surround insert with separators.
 output = $"{new string(@char, left)} {insert} {new string(@char, right)}";
 }


 // Output.
 Debug.WriteLine(output);
 }
 }
 }

When Should You Use It?

As mentioned in the introduction, the EndpointNotFoundException is tightly correlated with the Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), which is a .NET framework for easily creating service-oriented applications. Essentially, a WCF application provides at least one service endpoint (URI), which can be connected to and utilized via the service's API. Plus, such API method calls can even be made asynchronously.

For the code sample today we've created a default WCF service application named MyService. It starts with the IMyService interface, which defines the basic service and data contracts the service will provide:

// IMyService.cs

using System.Runtime.Serialization;

using System.ServiceModel;

namespace MyService
 {
 [ServiceContract]
 public interface IMyService
 {
 [OperationContract]
 string GetData(int value);


 [OperationContract]
 CompositeType GetDataUsingDataContract(CompositeType composite);
 }


 [DataContract]
 public class CompositeType
 {
 [DataMember]
 public bool BoolValue { get; set; } = true;


 [DataMember]
 public string StringValue { get; set; } = "Hello ";
 }
 }

From there, the MyService service implements the IMyService interface, providing the GetData(int value) method to "retrieve" some data. Alternatively, a data contract can also be used to retrieve data, but for our simple example we'll stick with directly invoking GetData(int value):

// MyService.svc

using System;

namespace MyService
 {
 public class MyService : IMyService
 {
 public string GetData(int value)
 {
 return $"You entered: {value}";
 }


 public CompositeType GetDataUsingDataContract(CompositeType composite)
 {
 if (composite == null)
 {
 throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(composite));
 }
 if (composite.BoolValue)
 {
 composite.StringValue += "Suffix";
 }
 return composite;
 }
 }
 }

Now, to access the MyServiceClient() class we need to specifically reference the MyService service in our Visual Studio project. This can be done by right-clicking the project name and selecting Add > Service Reference. On this screen, click Discover to automatically detect available services from other projects that are active/in the same solution. In our case, MyService.svc is listed, so we select that, then we change the Namespace to MyServiceReference and click OK.

Going through this process will automatically add a reference to the MyService service in our App.config file, as seen below:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>

<!-- App.config -->

<configuration>

    <startup>

        <supportedRuntime version="v4.0" sku=".NETFramework,Version=v4.7" />

    </startup>

    <system.serviceModel>

        <bindings>

            <basicHttpBinding>

                <binding name="BasicHttpBinding_IMyService" />

            </basicHttpBinding>

        </bindings>

        <client>

            <endpoint address="http://localhost:62792/MyService.svc" binding="basicHttpBinding"

                bindingConfiguration="BasicHttpBinding_IMyService" contract="MyServiceReference.IMyService"

                name="BasicHttpBinding_IMyService" />

        </client>

    </system.serviceModel>

</configuration>

We've defined a few test methods to verify our connection to the MyService service, one which is a synchronous call (GetDataTest(int value)), and the other that is asynchronous (GetDataAsyncTest(int value)):

// Program.cs

using System;

using AIrbrake.ServiceModel.EndpointNotFoundException.MyServiceReference;

using Utility;

namespace AIrbrake.ServiceModel.EndpointNotFoundException
 {
 internal class Program
 {
 internal static void Main(string[] args)
 {
 Logging.LineSeparator("GetDataTest(0)");
 GetDataTest(0);


 Logging.LineSeparator("GetDataAsyncTest(0)");
 GetDataAsyncTest(0);
 }


 internal static void GetDataTest(int value)
 {
 try
 {
 var client = new MyServiceClient();
 client.Open();
 var result = client.GetData(value);
 Logging.Log(result);
 }
 catch (System.ServiceModel.EndpointNotFoundException exception)
 {
 // Output expected EndpointNotFoundExceptions.
 Logging.Log(exception);
 }
 catch (Exception exception)
 {
 // Output unexpected Exceptions.
 Logging.Log(exception, false);
 }
 }


 internal static void GetDataAsyncTest(int value)
 {
 try
 {
 var client = new MyServiceClient();
 client.Open();
 var result = client.GetDataAsync(value);
 Logging.Log(result);
 }
 catch (System.ServiceModel.EndpointNotFoundException exception)
 {
 // Output expected EndpointNotFoundExceptions.
 Logging.Log(exception);
 }
 catch (Exception exception)
 {
 // Output unexpected Exceptions.
 Logging.Log(exception, false);
 }
 }
 }
 }

Running the above test code attempts to connect to MyService and passes the int value of 0, before returning the results, which we've output to the console log:

------------ GetDataTest(0) ------------

You entered: 0

--------- GetDataAsyncTest(0) ----------
 {System.Threading.Tasks.Task`1[[System.String, mscorlib, Version=4.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089]](HashCode:64554036)}
 Result: "You entered: 0"
 Id: 1
 Exception: { }
 null
 Status: RanToCompletion
 IsCanceled: False
 IsCompleted: True
 CreationOptions: None
 AsyncState: { }
 null
 IsFaulted: False

Cool, everything seems to be working as expected. The async call returns a System.Thread.Tasks.Task object, which is why the result is much more complicated than the direct method call, but we can see that the Result property is the same for both method calls.

Now, that's all well and good, but we can also manually add services to our App.config file. Let's see what happens if we change the endpoint.address value in App.config to the name of an invalid service, such as InvalidService.svc:

<!-- App.config -->

<!-- ... -->

<client>

    <endpoint address="http://localhost:62792/InvalidService.svc" binding="basicHttpBinding"

        bindingConfiguration="BasicHttpBinding_IMyService" contract="MyServiceReference.IMyService"

        name="BasicHttpBinding_IMyService" />

</client>

<!-- ... -->

Executing the same two test methods with this change to the endpoint.address property produces the following output:

------------ GetDataTest(0) ------------

[EXPECTED] System.ServiceModel.EndpointNotFoundException: There was no endpoint listening at http://localhost:62792/InvalidService.svc that could accept the message. This is often caused by an incorrect address or SOAP action. See InnerException, if present, for more details. ---> System.Net.WebException: The remote server returned an error: (404) Not Found.

--------- GetDataAsyncTest(0) ----------
 Exception thrown: 'System.Reflection.TargetInvocationException' in mscorlib.dll
 {System.Threading.Tasks.Task`1[[System.String, mscorlib, Version=4.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089]](HashCode:64554036)}
 Result failed with:The remote server returned an error: (404) Not Found.
 Id: 1
 Exception: { }
 {System.AggregateException(HashCode:61494432)}
 InnerExceptions: ...
 {System.ServiceModel.EndpointNotFoundException(HashCode:16578980)}
 Message: "There was no endpoint listening at http://localhost:62792/InvalidService.svc that could accept the message. This is often caused by an incorrect address or SOAP action. See InnerException, if present, for more details."
 Data: ...
 InnerException: { }
 TargetSite: { }
 StackTrace: ...
 HelpLink: null
 Source: "System.ServiceModel.Internals"
 HResult: -2146233087
 Message: "One or more errors occurred."
 Data: ...
 InnerException: { }
 {System.ServiceModel.EndpointNotFoundException(HashCode:16578980)}
 (reference already dumped - line:7)
 TargetSite: { }
 null
 StackTrace: null
 HelpLink: null
 Source: null
 HResult: -2146233088
 Status: Faulted
 IsCanceled: False
 IsCompleted: True
 CreationOptions: None
 AsyncState: { }
 null
 IsFaulted: True

Ah hah! Here we see our good friend the EndpointNotFoundException popup. As the error message indicates, the specific reason for a thrown EndpointNotFoundException could be any of a variety of reasons, but typically it's is because the provided endpoint.address value in App.config is incorrect.

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