When to use WSE

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When to use WSE

The Web Services Enhancements for Microsoft .NET (WSE) enables you to develop secure, interoperable Web services that are based on open industry specifications for .NET Framework applications. WSE enables this type of development by implementing the WS-* specifications to provide end-to-end message level security.
Using the .NET Framework 2.0 or Visual Studio 2005

WSE enables you to build secure Web services using the .NET Framework 2.0 and Visual Studio 2005.
Interoperable with Windows Communication Foundation

WSE-enabled clients will interoperate with Windows Communication Foundation (WCF). Additionally, WCF clients will interoperate with WSE 3.0-enabled Web services. WSE 3.0 is wire-level-compatible with WCF using the HTTP protocol and the corresponding turnkey security scenarios. Interoperability is not guaranteed with other protocols such as TCP.
Simplification of Web services security

WSE simplifies the security model in previous versions of WSE by introducing a set of turnkey security assertions. Instead of applying security to SOAP messages on a per SOAP message basis, these turnkey security assertions are designed to be applied apply to SOAP message exchanges that are based upon the distributed application's scenario.


Source : MSDN

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Installing WSE

The setup program for WSE installs the following items on a computer:

    * The Microsoft.Web.Services3 assembly (Microsoft.Web.Services3.dll) into the application folder.
    * [Optionally] WSE Tools.
    * [Optionally] WSE QuickStart sample programs.
    * [Optionally] WSE documentation.

Support

The Web Services Enhancements for Microsoft .NET builds on the Microsoft .NET Web services foundation, and will evolve to keep pace with the latest advancements in the Web services industry. As these advancements gain broad adoption and mature, they will be absorbed into the .NET Framework and Visual Studio, while future releases of the Web Services Enhancements will continue to target the latest advances.

This software is intended not only to allow developers to learn and experiment with the latest Web services capabilities, but it also provides a supported and deployable software foundation for development projects that take advantage of the latest capabilities.

As specifications evolve through the standards process, the Web Services Enhancements will track and implement the latest specifications. Because of this, code written for this version of the Web Services Enhancements is not guaranteed to be compatible with the future versions of the product. In other words, backward compatibility cannot be assured from version to version.

Source : MSDN

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What's New in WSE Version 3.0

This section describes the new and enhanced features included in the Web Services Enhancements for Microsoft .NET Framework version 3.0 (WSE 3.0).
Simplifying Security in Web services
Security Based on Policy Assertions

Like WSE 2.0, WSE 3.0 enables developers to use configuration files to specify requirements, including security for receiving and sending messages. These configuration files consist of a collection of named policies, each of which defines a set of requirements, including security, for a SOAP message exchange. WSE 3.0 has aligned this declarative model with the imperative programming model so that policies are always used to apply security and other requirements to a SOAP message. In addition, WSE 3.0 has simplified the policy model, so that it is applied to a message exchange instead of on a per-message level. For more details about securing an application, see Specifying Security Requirements for a Client and Specifying the Security Requirements For a Web Service.
WS-* Specifications support
MTOM

Sending Large Amounts of Data using MTOM

WSE 3.0 enables a client and a Web service to communicate using large amounts of data, such as an image file, and have that data interoperate with the WS-* specifications. To send large amounts of data in WSE 3.0, WSE supports the SOAP Message Transmission Optimization Mechanism (MTOM) specification. When WSE 3.0 is configured to send or receive SOAP messages that comply with MTOM, it places the data that is considered to be part of the SOAP envelope. This allows the data to compose with the WS-* specifications, including WS-Security, which allows the data to be digitally signed or encrypted. To specify that you want to send large amounts of data, specify that the Web service takes a parameter or return type that is or contains a byte array. Using the MTOM protocol allows for the byte array to not be Base64 encoded, which reduces the SOAP message size. Additionally, the programming model is simplified as it is the same regardless of whether files are MTOM-encoded or not. For more information, see How to: Enable a Web Service to Send and Receive Large Amounts of Data and How to: Send and Receive Large Amounts of Data to and from a Web Service.


Source : MSDN