Does redirecting a web service URL have any effect on the web service?

Question

Let's say a client gave me this URL to access a webservice to GetQuotes:

http://www.somecompany.com/services/myservice.asmx

If I tried to access the web service and I get redirected to:

http://new.location.somecompany.com/theservice.asmx

Will this affect the ASP.NET client calling this web service?

Where both service URLs have the exact same GetQuotes method.

[Edit] The reason for this question is because we are trying to access a web server which keeps rerouting requests to different servers depending on the load.

Answer 1

In general a redirect shouldn't adversely affect your client (provided it handles HTTP responses correctly).

However if it's a 302 permanent redirect you might want to just update your link and save yourself the extra DNS request...

That can also be a common way for a company to provide an unchanging external link for a service while still being able to move their backend around.