 <p>the mex endpoint is necessary during development as it provides an http location where the wsdl is built. the wsdl describes to the client how to communicate with the server through named pipes, or TCP/IP, or anything else. once the client app has built the proxy to the named pipes binding and set up the configuration, the mex endpoint is no longer necessary. hence, the mex endpoint can be removed prior to deployment through the environments if desired. </p>