SOP-006: Configuring MCP Transports

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Source: MCP Advanced Topics

Document Control

Field	Value
SOP ID	SOP-006
Version	1.0
Status	Active
Last Updated	2024-12

Overview

Configure MCP transports for local (STDIO) and remote (HTTP) deployments.

Transport Types

Transport	Best For	Pros	Cons
STDIO	Local development, Desktop apps, CLI tools	Simple, No network, Fast	Same machine only
HTTP	Production, Multi-user, Remote access	Scalable, Stateless option, Cloud-ready	Network latency, More complex

STDIO Transport Setup

# server_stdio.py
from mcp.server import Server
from mcp.server.stdio import stdio_server

server = Server("stdio-server")

# ... define tools ...

async def main():
    async with stdio_server() as (read, write):
        await server.run(read, write)

if __name__ == "__main__":
    import asyncio
    asyncio.run(main())

Client Configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "my-server": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["server_stdio.py"]
    }
  }
}

HTTP Transport Setup

# server_http.py
from mcp.server import Server
from mcp.server.sse import SseServerTransport
from starlette.applications import Starlette
from starlette.routing import Route

server = Server("http-server")

# ... define tools ...

# Create SSE transport
sse = SseServerTransport("/messages")

async def handle_sse(request):
    async with sse.connect_sse(
        request.scope,
        request.receive,
        request._send
    ) as streams:
        await server.run(
            streams[0],
            streams[1],
            server.create_initialization_options()
        )

app = Starlette(
    routes=[
        Route("/sse", handle_sse),
        Route("/messages", sse.handle_post_message, methods=["POST"])
    ]
)

# Run with: uvicorn server_http:app

Decision Flow: Which Transport?

HTTP Transport Modes

Mode	Features	Good For
Stateful	Maintains session between requests, Supports all MCP features	Interactive apps, Long-running sessions
Stateless	No session state, Limited features (no sampling, notifications)	Serverless, High-scale, Simple tools

Verification Checklist

• [ ] Transport type selected for use case
• [ ] Server starts without errors
• [ ] Client connects successfully
• [ ] Message exchange works
• [ ] Proper cleanup on disconnect

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
Connection timeout	Check firewall/ports
Protocol error	Verify JSON-RPC format
State lost	Use stateful mode if needed
Memory leak	Ensure proper cleanup

See Also

• SOP-005: MCP Server Setup
• Workflow-005: MCP Integration