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How to fix: "Metadata contains a reference that cannot be resolved:'http://<host>:<port><path>?wsdl'." for "Configure WCF Web Service Reference" in vs

I have been trying to publish a WCF web service on my IIS server using a nonstandard HTTPS port. Access to the server should only be possible after authentication (via basic authentication). The web service I created for testing purposes is the base project you get by default when creating a WCF Service Application in Visual Studio. The only modifications I made are in the web.config file:

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

  <appSettings>
    <add key="aspnet:UseTaskFriendlySynchronizationContext" value="true" />
  </appSettings>
  <system.web>
    <compilation debug="true" targetFramework="4.6.1" />
    <httpRuntime targetFramework="4.6.1"/>
  </system.web>
  <system.serviceModel>
    <behaviors>
      <serviceBehaviors>
        <behavior>
          <serviceMetadata httpGetEnabled="true" httpsGetEnabled="true"/>
          <serviceDebug includeExceptionDetailInFaults="false"/>
        </behavior>
      </serviceBehaviors>
    </behaviors>
    <serviceHostingEnvironment aspNetCompatibilityEnabled="true" multipleSiteBindingsEnabled="true" />
    <bindings>
      <basicHttpBinding>
        <binding name="secureHttpBinding">
          <security mode="Transport">
            <transport clientCredentialType="Basic"/>
          </security>
        </binding>
      </basicHttpBinding>
    </bindings>
    <services>
      <service name="SoapApi.Service1">
        <endpoint address=""
                  binding="basicHttpBinding"
                  bindingConfiguration="secureHttpBinding"
                  contract="SoapApi.IService1"/>

        <endpoint address="mex"
                  binding="mexHttpsBinding"
                  contract="IMetadataExchange" />
      </service>
    </services>
  </system.serviceModel>
  <system.webServer>
    <modules runAllManagedModulesForAllRequests="true"/>
    <directoryBrowse enabled="true"/>
  </system.webServer>

</configuration>

After the service was published on the local file system and the IIS was configured. I was able to reach the WSDL file on the server after authentication from the browser on my local PC. But if I'm trying to add the service to a simple client application using the Configure WCF Web Service Reference wizard from Visual Studio, I get the following error message:

Metadata contains a reference that cannot be resolved:'http://<host>:<port><path>?wsdl'.

and the full error message:

An error occurred while attempting to find services at 'http://<host>:<port><path>?wsdl'. The remote server returned an error: (403) Forbidden.

Since this error indicates that I don't have access permission, I thought why not turn off authentication and try if it works. I activated anonymous access for the website in IIS and deactivated basic authentication. Furthermore I changed the following passage in the web.config file:

<basicHttpBinding>
    <binding name="secureHttpBinding">
      <security mode="Transport">
        <transport clientCredentialType="None"/>
      </security>
    </binding>
 </basicHttpBinding>

I can still access the WSDL file from my browser, but nevertheless I still get the same error when adding the service reference to the client. The same happens if I test it via dotnet-svcutil http://<host>:<port><path>?wsdl

If I try to add the service reference locally everything works without any issues.

Additional information:

  • I already installed .NET Framework 4.6 and it's WCF HTTP Activation handler.
  • I added the permission IIS_IUSRS to the folder containing the service.

Any ideas to why this happens and what I could do to fix this problem?

Solution

  • If you use transport security mode, why not use https addresses? The https/http base address should be configured in IIS site binding module. enter image description here
    In addition, since you are using basic authentication, please turn on anonymous authentication and basic authentication in the IIS authentication module.
    On my side, I can add service references correctly using the Core-based console application.
    Besides, Please enable the following windows feature for WCF. enter image description here
    Feel free to let me know if there is anything I can help with.