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Run ASP.NET Web Application from Command Prompt

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8 Mar 2011CPOL2 min read 113.9K   54   39
Run ASP.NET Web Application from Command Prompt

Visual Studio has its own integrated ASP.NET Runtime engine, which helps to run any ASP.NET web application within Visual Studio. While running application from Visual Studio, you must have seen a popup notification in System Tray (as shown in the below image), which is a notification of ASP.NET Development Server.

image

This ASP.NET Development Server is nothing but an executable file (WebDev.WebServer) which used by Visual Studio to execute you web application when it’s running in the context of Visual Studio. You can find the executable file at <\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\microsoft shared\DevServer\10.0>. This folder contains two different executables:

  • WebDev.WebServer20.EXE
  • WebDev.WebServer40.EXE

WebDev.WebServer20 is targeted to CLR 2.0, which means all the ASP.NET applications which are targeted till FW .NET 3.5 will be taken care by WebDev.WebServer20.EXE and WebDev.WebServer40.EXE for ASP.NET 4.0 based application.

Now, let’s see how we can use these executables to run an ASP.NET 4.0 application without using Visual Studio. Surprised smile

Step 1: Open the Command Prompt for “Program Files (x86)\Common Files\microsoft shared\DevServer\10.0”.

image

Easiest way to go there, type Cmd in the address bar (If you are using Win 7), this will directly open command prompt with exact path.

image

Pointing up Source for this cmd Tip: http://twitter.com/#!/pbrooks/status/35734806549495808 Thumbs up

Step 2: [Optional] Type WebDev.WebServer40 and Press Enter, this will open a popup window with the details of required parameter.

image

Step 3: If you are done with review, type below command in your command prompt:

image

Note: Port number should be valid and not be used by any other process and path is location of your published web apps.

Step 4: Once done, press Enter, you will see a pop up notification in system tray.

image

If you double click on that icon, you will get the below window of ASP.NET Development server, which is exactly the same notification window which we used to get when we run some ASP.NET application from Visual Studio.

image

This indicates your application is running now.

Step 4: Open IE > Type http://localhost:<portnumber>, you are there !Winking smile

image


Filed under: ASP.NET, Tips and Tricks, Visual Studio

License

This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)


Written By
Technical Lead
India India
.NET Consultant | Former Microsoft MVP - ASP.NET | CodeProject MVP, Mentor, Insiders| Technology Evangelist | Author | Speaker | Geek | Blogger | Husband

Blog : http://abhijitjana.net
Web Site : http://dailydotnettips.com
Twitter : @AbhijitJana
My Kinect Book : Kinect for Windows SDK Programming Guide

Comments and Discussions

 
GeneralWorked gr8 Pin
karthick19892-May-11 23:30
karthick19892-May-11 23:30 
GeneralRe: Worked gr8 Pin
Abhijit Jana3-May-11 1:19
professionalAbhijit Jana3-May-11 1:19 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
karthick19892-May-11 23:08
karthick19892-May-11 23:08 
Answer[My vote of 1] It does not work in Windows XP professional service pack 2 Pin
Rajneesh Rai2-May-11 19:41
Rajneesh Rai2-May-11 19:41 
GeneralRe: [My vote of 1] It does not work in Windows XP professional service pack 2 Pin
Abhijit Jana2-May-11 19:53
professionalAbhijit Jana2-May-11 19:53 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
Abhishek Sur27-Apr-11 11:51
professionalAbhishek Sur27-Apr-11 11:51 
Great work man...

Got my vote long ago. But nice to see my comment here too.
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
Ankur\m/22-Apr-11 1:03
professionalAnkur\m/22-Apr-11 1:03 
General[My vote of 2] Whats the use in practical dev Pin
tejinderjoshi20-Apr-11 22:38
tejinderjoshi20-Apr-11 22:38 
GeneralRe: [My vote of 2] Whats the use in practical dev Pin
Abhijit Jana21-Apr-11 22:32
professionalAbhijit Jana21-Apr-11 22:32 
GeneralRe: [My vote of 2] Whats the use in practical dev Pin
Brij21-Apr-11 23:13
mentorBrij21-Apr-11 23:13 
GeneralRe: [My vote of 2] Whats the use in practical dev Pin
tejinderjoshi2-May-11 16:48
tejinderjoshi2-May-11 16:48 
GeneralRe: [My vote of 2] Whats the use in practical dev Pin
Abhijit Jana2-May-11 19:47
professionalAbhijit Jana2-May-11 19:47 
GeneralRe: [My vote of 2] Whats the use in practical dev Pin
Kunal Chowdhury «IN»22-Apr-11 3:59
professionalKunal Chowdhury «IN»22-Apr-11 3:59 
GeneralRe: [My vote of 2] Whats the use in practical dev Pin
tejinderjoshi2-May-11 16:47
tejinderjoshi2-May-11 16:47 
GeneralRe: [My vote of 2] Whats the use in practical dev Pin
Abhijit Jana2-May-11 20:00
professionalAbhijit Jana2-May-11 20:00 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
Abhimanyu Kumar Vatsa19-Apr-11 4:03
Abhimanyu Kumar Vatsa19-Apr-11 4:03 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
HaBiX19-Apr-11 1:11
HaBiX19-Apr-11 1:11 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
Sandesh M Patil12-Apr-11 2:02
Sandesh M Patil12-Apr-11 2:02 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
Gandalf_TheWhite11-Apr-11 22:51
professionalGandalf_TheWhite11-Apr-11 22:51 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
Abhinav S9-Apr-11 3:56
Abhinav S9-Apr-11 3:56 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
Sunasara Imdadhusen8-Apr-11 20:45
professionalSunasara Imdadhusen8-Apr-11 20:45 
GeneralMy vote of 4 Pin
Oscar N.18-Mar-11 8:37
Oscar N.18-Mar-11 8:37 
GeneralRe: My vote of 4 Pin
HaBiX19-Apr-11 1:11
HaBiX19-Apr-11 1:11 
GeneralSimply Superb Pin
demouser74316-Mar-11 2:05
demouser74316-Mar-11 2:05 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
Sandesh M Patil11-Mar-11 8:41
Sandesh M Patil11-Mar-11 8:41 

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