Work with Web API and Windows Phone

I am developing a solution that is composed of two elements: a web server, which publishes some REST services, and a mobile client, which consumes those services. To implement the REST services I have used the Web API technology.

When I start the web project in debug, everything works fine. I can use the services by pointing to localhost:63954/api. A weird fact: if I change "localhost" with "127.0.0.1" or with the LAN address of the machine, 192.168.xxx.xxx, the server does not answer anymore!

Then, when I start the Windows Phone client, which runs in a virtualized emulator, it fails to connect to the web server! Even if the two components are running in the same machine. Obviously, in Windows Phone I cannot use the "localhost", since the localhost of the phone is the phone itself. So I'm trying to use the 192.168.xxx.xxx address which is the address of the machine that is running the web service. But the mobile phone emulator fails to reach the webservice.

I need to run the Web Server in Visual Studio 2012, since I need to debug it, and to make it reachable from the Windows Phone Emulator, but I do not know how to do it. Can you help me? Any idea?

Thank you so much, Riccardo.

EDIT: By following the link found here (Binding IIS Express to an IP Address) and by turning off my firewall I can run the web application outside VS12 and I can make it reachable from other pc in the network, and so also from the WP emulator. This could be a work-around, but I cannot debug the REST service in VS in this way and this is not good...

回答1:

The Windows Phone 8 emulator works as a separate machine on your network, with it's own IP address and configuration. Therefore, for the emulator to be able to access your service you will need to make sure that the port you are trying to access is open for inbound connections.

回答2:

As you mentioned the windows phone is running seprate in your client machine,One way of solving this problem is ,Binding your machine's Ip address to the Web Api,SO the Web api can be accessed using the Machine's Ip address.You can Bind the ip address to the project by using Microsoft Webmatrix. So,You can access the web Api using the Ip address.Hope this helps.