How to properly implement SignalR in a distributed, SOA environment?

Question

I have a good understanding SignalR Hubs in a client/server scenario, where both the client and server are tightly coupled.

Let's say I have a WCF service that receives an update from some external resource. That service could update the database with a new value. However the client would need to be notified that an update has occurred. This could be handled through a service proxy that notifies the client (sounds a bit like polling) or some cache resource.

I could create C#-based clients and connect all the nodes via SignalR hubs, but this creates a closed, non-distributed system.

A SignaR hub that attaches to a WCF service could use the .Net 4.5 could implement a WCF asynchronous service operation, where a hub client would be notified with any service data changes.

I saw something similar in Push Notifications with NServiceBus and SignaR, but not sure if this is an optimal production-level solution.

What other methods could be used in this scenario and how would they be implemented?

Answer 1

If you are not using push notifications directly to the client or some kind of long polling then it is pretty typical to communicate with clients on another channel altogether. Not knowing the business case, it is hard to tell what would be feasible. Usually this manifests itself in the form of SMS, push notifications to mobile, email, etc. This does not answer your question directly, but you may find that there is another way to achieve your goal.