WCF service can be hosted by following mechanism
- IIS
Internet information Service provides number of advantages if a Service uses Http as protocol. It does not require Host code to activate the service, it automatically activates service code.
- Windows Activation Service
(WAS) is the new process activation mechanism that ships with IIS 7.0. In addition to HTTP based communication, WCF can also use WAS to provide message-based activation over other protocols, such as TCP and named pipes.
- Self-Hosting
WCF service can be self hosted as console application, Win Forms or WPF application with graphical UI.
- Windows Service
WCF can also be hosted as a Windows Service, so that it is under control of the Service Control Manager (SCM).
