Asp.net Web API: HttpClient Download large files breaks - asp.net

Question

I have a web service (made in Asp.net Web API) that returns an xml file of about 10MB size.
The service has been tested with Fiddler and it is working
I am trying to download the file using HttpClient class. The problem is that the compilator never gets outside the await client.GetAsync() method, even if the API project returned the HttpResponseMessage.
This is my function
public async Task<XDocument> DownloadXmlAsync(string xmlFileName)
{
using (HttpClient client = new HttpClient())
{
client.BaseAddress = new Uri("http://localhost:51734/");
client.DefaultRequestHeaders.Accept.Add(new MediaTypeWithQualityHeaderValue("text/xml"));
// When the copiler enters this next command, it doesn't get outside anymore
HttpResponseMessage response = await client.GetAsync("api/applications/ApplicationXml?fileName=" + xmlFileName);
response.EnsureSuccessStatusCode();
string stringResponse = await response.Content.ReadAsStringAsync();
XDocument xDoc = new XDocument(stringResponse);
return xDoc;
}
}
I updated also the maxRequestLength in web.config
<httpRuntime maxRequestLength="15360" />
What i am doing wrong?
Edit
Calling the function
public async Task<ActionResult> Index()
{
var xmlTask = DownloadXmlAsync("1.xml");
// doesn't reach here
var result = xmlTask.Result;
return View();
}

Answer 1

You're causing a classic deadlock by calling Result. Instead, you should await the task:
public async Task<ActionResult> Index()
{
var xmlTask = DownloadXmlAsync("1.xml");
// doesn't reach here
var result = await xmlTask;
return View();
}
I explain this deadlock in full on my blog, but the general idea is like this:
ASP.NET only allows one thread to be processing a request at a time.
When you await a Task, the compiler will capture a "context" and use it to resume the method when the Task completes. In the case of ASP.NET, this "context" is a request context.
So when DownloadXmlAsync (asynchronously) waits for GetAsync to complete, it returns an incomplete task to Index.
Index synchronously blocks on that task. This means the request thread is blocked until that task completes.
When the file is received, GetAsync completes. However, DownloadXmlAsync cannot continue because it's trying to resume that "context", and the "context" already has a thread in it: the one blocked on the task.
Hence, deadlock.