The next version of Windows, i.e. Longhorn, will include Web Services for Devices. The specification and device profiles are available now, and will be included in the first beta of Longhorn, expected later this summer, and are based on a subset of WSTL (web services transaction language).
Microsoft sees web services not only affecting the large scale design of network application architectures, but even the smaller scale configuration and interworking problems. For example, at WinHEC it was demonstrated how Web Services-Discovery enabled installation of a printer and projector without a search for drivers.
In addition to WS-Discovery, the protocol specs include WSDAPI.DLL, which allows for publishing, finding and consuming web services resources on a network. WS-Discovery Microsoft Operations Manager (WSD-MOM) will be implemented in Longhorn and an SDK will be made available.
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