Is Visual Studio 2010 WebDev WebServer (Cassini) 64-bit compatible?

Question

I'm now developing on Visual Studio 2008 on a 64-bit OS (Windows Server 2008 64-bit).

While the apps I write are 64-bit capable, as is IIS7, the built-in ASP.NET Development Server (aka Cassini aka WebDev.Webserver.exe) runs as 32-bit.

This brings up a plethora of issues, such as:

• 32-bit and 64-bit applications have separate HKLM\Software registry homes
• There are 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the SQL Server Client Network Utility
• Other fun surprises I haven't discovered but I'm sure will spring up

While I am finding workarounds for most of this, I have to ask...

Does anyone who has played with the Visual Studio 2010 preview bits on 64-bit architecture know if the development web servers can handle 64-bit, and if so, are there options for which mode to run it in? (Like a checkbox in the project properties, for instance)

Answer 1

Looks like this guy took a similar approach to using Reflector and re-compiling as 64 bit: http://codeka.com/blogs/index.php/2007/06/18/64_bit_webdev_webserver_exe

I haven't found anything that suggests the story will be different in VS2010, but fingers crossed.

Answer 2

There's a third-party product called UltiDev Cassini that advertises a 64bit version. It's free and redistributable; that may solve your needs.

Information here: http://ultidev.com/Products/Cassini/CassiniDevGuide.htm

Answer 3

32 bit IDE and related things make it easier to develop.

When you start to test and deploy further, such as x64, IIS is a better choice.

Answer 4

Full source code for a direct replacement for VS2008/2010 dev servers is available at http://cassinidev.codeplex.com. You can compile to x64 to support your requirements.