Finally, something that many community members have been requesting me to publish is here! I already made this manual several months ago, however, for several reasons (speaking engagements, publishing other content and so on) I have been delaying its publication. But I have offered this same guide to all my customers.

There are many things to consider when planning this type of installation, often the network infrastructure already exists and BizTalk Server must coexist with other network applications.

Installing BizTalk Server 2013 R2 in a Basic Multi-Computer Environment (User Guide) is a 145 pages detailed installation document that explains how to install, configure and optimize Microsoft BizTalk Server 2013 R2 on a basic multi-computer running Windows Server 2012 R2. This information will help you to plan the installation and configuration of BizTalk Server 2013 R2, applications and components on which it depends.

Contents                                      

1. BizTalk Server Installation scenario.
2. The need for a Domain Controller – Windows Groups and Service Accounts.
   1. Create Domain Groups and Users.
   2. Planning the use of a new Organizational Unit.
   3. Windows Groups Used In BizTalk Server.
   4. IIS_WPG and IIS_IUSRS Group.
   5. User and Service Accounts Used In BizTalk Server.
   6. Summary of users and Groups Affiliation.
   7. SQL Server Service Accounts.
   8. References.
3. Preparing Computers for Installation – Important considerations before set up the servers.
   1. Change the Machine name.
   2. Join the Local Administrators Group.
   3. The user running the BizTalk Server configuration must belong…
   4. Install Critical Windows Updates.
   5. Disable IPv6 (optional).
   6. Turn off Internet Explorer Enhanced Security Configuration (optional).
   7. Disable User Account Control (optional).
   8. Turn Windows Firewall off (optional).
   9. Configure Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator (MS DTC).
   10. COM+ Network Access considerations.
4. Preparing and Install SQL Server 2014 machine.
   1. Important considerations before set up the servers.
   2. Install SQL Server 2014.
   3. Configure SQL Server Database Mail feature.
   4. Install Service Pack 1 for Microsoft SQL Server 2014.
   5. Configure SQL Server for Remote Connections.
   6. Configured SQL Server protocols – Disable the Shared Memory Protocol, Enable TCP/IP and Named Pipes.
   7. Configure SQL Server Database Engine to listen on a specific TCP Port (optional).
   8. Configure SQL Analysis Server to listen on a specific TCP Port (optional).
   9. Configuring Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator (DTC) to work through a firewall or network address translation firewalls (optional).
   10. List of ports between BizTalk Server and SQL Server (optional).
   11. Configure Firewall on SQL Server machine (optional).
       1. Inbound Rules.
       2. Outbound Rules.
5. Preparing and install prerequisites on BizTalk Server 2013 R2 machine.
   1. Important considerations before set up the servers.
   2. Enable Internet Information Services.
   3. Running the BAM Portal in a 64-bit Environment.
   4. Install Windows Identity Foundation (WIF) (optional).
   5. Install Microsoft Office Excel 2013 (optional).
   6. Install Visual Studio 2013 (optional).
   7. Remove Microsoft SQL Server Express.
   8. SQL Server Considerations.
   9. Install SQL Server 2014 Client Tools.
   10. Create SQL Alias to communicate with remote SQL Server using Non-Standard Port (optional).
   11. List of ports between SQL Server and BizTalk Server (optional).
   12. Configure Firewall on BizTalk Server machine.
       1. Inbound Rules.
       2. Outbound Rules.
6. Testing environment connectivity’s.
   1. TCPView.
   2. DTCPing.
   3. DTCTester.
   4. SQL Server 2014 Client Tools.
7. Install and configure BizTalk Server 2013 R2 machine.
   1. Install BizTalk Server 2013 R2.
      1. Verify Your Installation.
   2. Configure BizTalk Server.
      1. Pin BizTalk Server Administration to taskbar.
   3. Validate Mail account used by BizTalk to send BAM Alerts.
   4. Install BizTalk Adapter Pack.
      1. Microsoft BizTalk Adapter Pack and Microsoft BizTalk Adapter Pack (x64).
      2. Steps to install BizTalk Adapter Pack.
      3. Add adapters to BizTalk Administration Console.
   5. Install Critical Windows Updates and BizTalk Server Cumulative Update Package.
   6. Configure BizTalk Server SQL Jobs.
      1. How to configure Backup BizTalk Server (BizTalkMgmtDb).
      2. How to configure DTA Purge and Archive (BizTalkDTADb).
      3. MessageBox_Message_Cleanup_BizTalkMsgBoxDb.
8. Optimize the BizTalk Server 2013 R2 environment
   1. Deleting BizTalk backup files.
      1. Implementing a custom sp_DeleteBackupHistory.
      2. Implementing a Maintenance Plan to clean BizTalk Database backup’s files.
   2. Pre-allocate space and define auto-growth settings for BizTalk Server databases. 112
   3. Configure BizTalk Server Windows Services.
   4. Install and configure BizTalk Health Monitor.
      1. How to register BizTalk Health Monitor Snap-In.
      2. How to integrate BHM Snap-In into BizTalk Admin Console
   5. Install SSO Configuration Application MMC Snap-In
   6. Configure BizTalk Jobs History (Microsoft SQL Server Agent job history log).
      1. To resize the job history log based on raw size.
   7. Force Full Backup BizTalk Server (BizTalkMgmtDb) job.
   8. Managing and cleaning BizTalk Server MarkLog database tables.
   9. Configure host and Host instances.
      1. What’s is Host, Host Instances and Adapter Handlers?.
      2. Best practices to Configuring Hosts and Host Instances.
      3. How can I automate this task?.
   10. Power Mode.
   11. Consider setting the ‘text in row’ table option to boost BizTalk Server Performance.
       1. How to exploit the Text in Row table option in BizTalk Server.
   12. General network TCP settings that can impact BizTalk Server
       1. How to Disable the Scalable Networking Pack (SNP) features
       2. How to Disable Privilege Attribute Certificate (PAC)
       3. How to Check and if necessary increase the ephemeral ports and reduce the TCP re-use timeout setting

If you are interest to see other version check the following posts:

• BizTalk Server 2013 R2: Installation and Configuration (standalone)
• BizTalk Server 2013 Installation and Configuration (standalone)
• BizTalk Server 2010 Installation and Configuration (Basic Multi-Computer)
• BizTalk Server 2010 Installation and Configuration (standalone)

Microsoft announced on October 27, 2016, the release of Microsoft BizTalk Server 2016 – the 10th major release of BizTalk Server –and, as usual with previous versions, I updated my installation and configuration manual for BizTalk Server 2016. This whitepaper will explain in detail – a step-by-step guideline – how to install and configure Microsoft BizTalk Server 2016 on a standalone environment running Windows Server 2016. This information will help you plan the installation and configuration of BizTalk Server 2016, applications and components on which it depends focused on creating a development environment (you can also follow this tutorial to help you create production environments, however, if this is the case you need to skip some steps).

Assumptions and out of scope

It will be assumed that the operating system: Windows Server 2016 and latest critical Windows updates from Microsoft already have been installed.

In this scenario, it will be performed a full installation of Microsoft BizTalk Server 2016, with the exception of the deprecated SharePoint Adapter (SharePoint Services Service Side Object Model (SSOM)). The following components will be installed:

• Enterprise Single Sign-On (SSO).
• BizTalk Group.
• BizTalk Runtime.
• Business Rule Engine.
• BAM Tools and Alerts.
• BAM Portal.
• BizTalk EDI/AS2 Runtime
• Microsoft BizTalk Adapters for Enterprise Applications (BizTalk Adapter Pack)

What’s in store for you?

By reading this whitepaper, you will understand:

• Important considerations before setting up BizTalk Server 2016
• Prerequisites for installing BizTalk Server 2016
• Step by step process of installing BizTalk Server 2016 on Windows Server 2016
• Best ways in which you can optimize your BizTalk Server 2016 environment
• Hardware and Software requirements
• Basic Configuration vs. Custom Configuration

Contents

• BizTalk Server Installation scenario
  • Assumptions and out of scope
• Important considerations before set up the server.
  • Join the Local Administrators Group.
  • Change the Machine name.
  • Turn off Internet Explorer Enhanced Security Configuration (optional)
  • Disable User Account Control (optional).
  • Turn Windows Firewall off (optional).
  • Configure the Application Event Log.
  • Configure Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator (MS DTC).
  • Customize Taskbar and Start Menu Properties (optional).
  • Set the default browser.
  • Install Critical Windows Updates.
• Preparing and install prerequisites for BizTalk Server 2016.
  • Important considerations before set up the servers.
  • Enable Internet Information Services.
    • Running the BAM Portal in a 64-bit Environment.
  • Install Windows Identity Foundation (WIF) (optional).
  • Install and configure SMTP Server Feature (optional)
    • Verify Your Installation
  • Install Microsoft Office Excel 2016 (optional).
    • Installing and configuring Office 2016 Deployment Tool
    • Installing Microsoft Office Excel 2016
  • Install Visual Studio 2015 (optional).
    • Remove Microsoft SQL Server Express.
  • Install SQL Server 2016.
  • Configure SQL Server Database Mail feature.
• Install and configure BizTalk Server 2016.
  • Install BizTalk Server 2016.
    • Verify Your Installation.
  • Configure BizTalk Server.
    • Pin BizTalk Server Administration to the taskbar.
  • Configure SQL Server Network Configuration protocols.
  • Validate Mail account used by BizTalk to send BAM Alerts.
  • Install BizTalk Adapter Pack
    • Microsoft BizTalk Adapter Pack and Microsoft BizTalk Adapter Pack (x64).
    • Steps to install BizTalk Adapter Pack.
    • Add adapters to BizTalk Administration Console.
  • Install Critical Windows Updates and BizTalk Server Cumulative Update Package.
  • Configure BizTalk Server SQL Jobs.
    • How to configure Backup BizTalk Server (BizTalkMgmtDb).
    • How to configure DTA Purge and Archive (BizTalkDTADb).
    • MessageBox_Message_Cleanup_BizTalkMsgBoxDb.
• Optimize the BizTalk Server 2016 environment
  • Deleting BizTalk backup files.
    • Implementing a custom sp_DeleteBackupHistory.
    • Implementing a Maintenance Plan to clean BizTalk Database backup’s files.
  • Pre-allocate space and define auto-growth settings for BizTalk Server databases.
  • Configure BizTalk Server Windows Services.
  • Install and configure BizTalk Health Monitor.
    • How to register BizTalk Health Monitor Snap-In.
    • How to integrate BHM Snap-In into BizTalk Admin Console
  • Configure BizTalk Jobs History (Microsoft SQL Server Agent job history log).
    • To resize the job history log based on raw size.
  • Managing and cleaning BizTalk Server MarkLog database tables.
  • Configure host and Host instances.
    • What’s is Host, Host Instances and Adapter Handlers?.
    • Best practices for Configuring Hosts and Host Instances.
    • How can I automate this task?.
  • Power Mode.
  • Consider setting the ‘text in row’ table option to boost BizTalk Server Performance
    • How to exploit the Text in Row table option in BizTalk Server
• Appendix A: Hardware and Software Requirements
• Appendix B: Redistributable CAB Files
• Appendix C: Basic Configuration vs. Custom Configuration

Download the whitepaper for free here: Installing BizTalk Server 2016 on a Standalone Machine

If you are interested to see other versions check the following posts:

• BizTalk Server 2013 R2: Installation and Configuration (Basic Multi-Computer)
• BizTalk Server 2013 R2: Installation and Configuration (standalone)
• BizTalk Server 2013 Installation and Configuration (standalone)
• BizTalk Server 2010 Installation and Configuration (Basic Multi-Computer)
• BizTalk Server 2010 Installation and Configuration (standalone)

I would like to take this opportunity also to say thanks to Lex Hegt for reviewing this whitepaper.

Download the whitepaper for free here: Installing BizTalk Server 2016 on a Standalone Machine

Today I’m returning to one of my favorites topics … no not transformations, this time is all about “Errors and Warnings, Causes and Solutions”.

Today I encountered the following issue when I was trying to connect to a remote SQL Server database:

“The local MS DTC detected that the MS DTC on <server name> has the same unique identity as the local MS DTC. This means that the two MS DTC will not be able to communicate with each other. This problem typically occurs if one of the systems were cloned using unsupported cloning tools. MS DTC requires that the systems be cloned using supported cloning tools such as SYSPREP. Running ‘msdtc -uninstall’ and then ‘msdtc -install’ from the command prompt will fix the problem. Note: Running ‘msdtc -uninstall’ will result in the system losing all MS DTC configuration information.”

Cause

The error message is quite lucid about the main reason of this error, this normally occurs when the machines are cloned: “…systems be cloned using supported cloning tools such as SYSPREP.”

Solution

This is one of those very few cases that the error message will give us the actually cause of the problem and the solution: “Running ‘msdtc -uninstall’ and then ‘msdtc -install’ from the command prompt will fix the problem.”

So, to solve this problem you need to:

• Click Start, and then click Command Prompt.
• At the command prompt, type “msdtc -uninstall”, and then press ENTER.
• At the command prompt, type “msdtc -install”, and then press ENTER.

Note: To perform this procedure, you must have membership in Administrators, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority.

However, after I resolve this condition by uninstalling and then reinstalling the Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator service (MSDTC), when I access the BizTalk Administration Console and try to refresh (F5) the Group Hub Page I got this additional error:

“The Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator (MSDTC) may not be configured correctly. Ensure that the MSDTC service is running and DTC network access is allowed on the BizTalk, SQL and SSO Master servers. For more information, see “MSDTC Configuration settings required for BizTalk Server” in the BizTalk Server Help.”

I try to restart the MSDTC service or other services like the Enterprise Single Sign-On Service without any success… to avoid spending more time on this issue, and because this was a DEV standalone machine, I decided to restart the server… and that did the trick, after the restart, everything was working without any problem.

Being in The Netherland for the first time and probably inspired by the cold outside my hotel room, that discourages any “reasonable person” to walk in streets of Arnhem at night, let’s talk about another familiar problem that can occur in BizTalk Server. The error that I will address today is quite normal to appear when we are trying to apply Cumulative Updates (CU), and is probably transversal to all versions, in our BizTalk environment. I got it recently while I was trying to apply BizTalk Server 2013 R2 CU1:

“Failed to stop service WINMGMT”

Be aware that for example BizTalk Server Administration console relies on Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI); more specifically, the BizTalk WMI Provider (BTSWMIProvider.dll).

WMI runs as a service with the display name “Windows Management Instrumentation” and the service name “winmgmt”. WMI runs automatically at system startup under the LocalSystem account. If WMI is not running, it automatically starts when the first management application or script requests connection to a WMI namespace.

Causes

I actually don’t know the reasons that sometimes this problem occurs. Maybe we don’t “force” to run the setup “as an administrator” or because some of the dependent services failed to stop for some specific reason.

Normally, the CU setup will try to stop all the necessary or required services before it started to install the updates. But sometimes, to successfully install some of the cumulative updates, you should manually stop some of the following services before you start the installation:

• Enterprise Single Sign-On (SSO) (Service Name: ENTSSO)
• IIS Admin Service (Service Name: IISADMIN)
• Windows Management Instrumentation (Service Name: Winmgmt)

Note: To determine whether there are any WMI processes active, use Windows Task Manager. Or, run the tasklist command from the Command Prompt and check whether “WmiPrvSE.exe” exists.

Solution

You can easily solve this problem by manually stopping the Windows Management Instrumentation service (Winmgmt):

• Click Start, click All Programs, and then click Accessories.
• Right-click Command prompt, and then click “Run as administrator”.
  • Or, in the Start Search box, type cmd, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER.
• At a command prompt, enter “net stop winmgmt”.

Note: if you don’t open a command prompt as an administrator you may end receiving an “Access is denied” message.

Introduction

The BizTalk Scheduled Task Adapter is an In-Process receive adapter that executes a prescribed task on a daily, weekly or monthly schedule. The adapter is configured entirely within BizTalk, all configurations are stored within the SSODB and can be exported and imported via binding files.

The schedule capabilities are similar to those available with the Windows Scheduled Task Service.

Four simple tasks are included in this version:

• XmlStringStreamProvider – generates a BizTalk message from a configured XML string
• FileStreamProvider – generates a BizTalk message from the contents of a file
• HttpDownload – generates a BizTalk message from data downloaded from a website
• SQLStreamProvider – generates a BizTalk message from the contents of a SQL Query (similar to the old SQL adapter)

Custom tasks can be created. Any .NET class that implements the appropriate interface can be scheduled.

Release History

This adapter is available since BizTalk Server 2004.

• Release 6.0: release on March 1, 2017, by Sandro Pereira, this adapter was tested to work on BizTalk Server 2016. Compiled in .NET Framework 4.6
• Release 5.0: release on February 18, 2015, by Sandro Pereira, this adapter was tested to work on BizTalk Server 2013 R2. Compiled in .NET Framework 4.5
• Release 4.0: release on June 12, 2012, by Sandro Pereira, this adapter was tested to work on BizTalk Server 2010. Compiled in .NET Framework 4.0
• Release 3.0: release on Aug 10, 2010, by Greg Forsythe, this adapter was tested to work on BizTalk Server 2009. Compiled in .NET Framework 2.0
• Release 2.0: last release on Apr 20, 2008, by Greg Forsythe, this adapter works with BizTalk Server 2006 and BizTalk Server 2006 R2. Compiled in .NET Framework 2.0
• Release 1.02: last release on Apr 20, 2008, by Greg Forsythe, this adapter works with BizTalk Server 2004, BizTalk Server 2006 and BizTalk Server 2006 R2. Compiled in .NET Framework 1.1

Requirements

The Scheduled Task Adapter v6.0 will work with:

• BizTalk Server 2016
• .NET Framework 4.6

How to install BizTalk Scheduled Task Adapter

To install the adapter you need to run “ScheduledTaskAdapter.msi”.

• In the “Welcome” screen, click “Next”.

• In the “Select Installation Folder” screen, you must set the installation locations were you what to install the adapter and then click “Next”.

• In the “Confirm Installation” screen, click “Next”, then it will appear the installation progress

• Assuming all goes well, the “Installation Complete” screen will appear. Click “Close” to finish the installation process.

The setup will install the following assemblies in the selected folder (The default folder is: C:\Program Files (x86)\BizTalk ScheduledTask Adapter 6.0):

• BizTalk Scheduled Task Adapter.pdf (Installation manual)
• Biztalk.Adapter.ScheduledTaskProperties.dll
• Calendar.Schedules.dll
• Microsoft.BizTalk.CommonSettings.dll
• Microsoft.BizTalk.SqmFramework.dll
• ScheduledTaskAdapter.Admin.dll
• ScheduledTaskAdapter.dll
• ScheduledTaskAdapter.TaskComponents.dll
• stdole.dll

The setup will add the following assemblies to the Global Assembly Cache (GAC)

• Biztalk.Adapter.ScheduledTaskProperties.dll
• Calendar.Schedules.dll
• ScheduledTaskAdapter.dll
• ScheduledTaskAdapter.Admin.dll
• ScheduledTaskAdapter.TaskComponents.dll

The setup will add the following registry key:

• HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{7A4BDD2A-3063-4f57-A108-DEA05DEB417E}

Post-Installation

Register the Adapter with BizTalk

As it happens with all adapters that we installed on our BizTalk Servers before we can begin to use it we need to register or configure the adapter. To accomplish that we need to:

• Open BizTalk Administration Console
• In the console left tree, expand “BizTalk Server Administration –> BizTalk Group –> Platform Settings” and then “Adapters”
• Right-click on “Adapters” and add a new adapter by selecting the option “New –> Adapter”

• In the “Adapter Properties” window
  • Set the name of the adapter: Name = Schedule
  • In the adapter combo box, select the option: Schedule
  • Set the description of the adapter: “BizTalk Scheduled Task Adapter. The schedule capabilities are similar to those available with the Windows Scheduled Task Service.” (this property is optional but I would suggest to always be filled)

• Note: This configuration requires that you restart the host instance associated with the adapter. At this moment, click “Ok” to continue the configuration process.

• [Optional] By default, the Receive Handler configured for the BizTalk Scheduled Task Adapter will be the default Host configured in the environment, that normally is “BizTalkServerApplication”. We can change this behavior by:
  • In the BizTalk Server Administration Console, expand “BizTalk Server Administration”, expand “BizTalk Group”, expand “Platform Settings”, and then expand “Adapters”.
  • In the expanded adapter list, right-click the Schedule adapter and then select the option “New –> Receive Handler”

• In the Schedule – Adapter Handle Properties” dialog box, on the General tab, in the Host Name list, select the host with which the adapter handler will be associated. And then click “Ok”

• Again, at this point, a pop-up will appear notifying that this configuration requires that you restart the host instances associated with the adapter. At this moment, click “Ok” to finish the configuration process.

• To finish this configuration process, in the BizTalk Server Administration console tree, expand BizTalk Server Administration, expand the BizTalk group, click Platform Settings, and then click Host Instances.
• In the details pane, select host instance(s) you want to restart, right-click and then click “Restart”.

Using the adapter Context Properties (Optional)

To utilize the Scheduled Task adapter’s context properties within a filter or orchestration the Biztalk.Adapter.ScheduledTaskProperties.dll must be deployed into the BizTalkMgmtDb.

This can be achieved using the Biztalk Deployment Wizard or equivalent tool.

Note: This step is optional; you only need to do this if you want to use Scheduled Task adapter’s context properties within a filter or orchestration.

As previously mentioned, you can deploy Biztalk.Adapter.ScheduledTaskProperties.dll in various ways; I suggest that you do the following steps:

• Open BizTalk Administration Console
• In the console left tree, expand “BizTalk Server Administration –> BizTalk Group” and then “Applications”
• Right-click on “Applications” and add a new application by selecting the option “New –> Application”

• In the “Adapter Properties” window
  • Set the name of the application: BizTalk.Global
  • Set the description of the application: “Application that contains common resources to several applications” (this property is optional but I would suggest to always be filled)

• Expand the application created previous and select the option “Resources”
• Right-click and add a new BizTalk resource by selecting the option “New –> BizTalk Assemblies…”

• In the “Add Resources” window select “Add…” button and from the installation directory select the DLL “Biztalk.Adapter.ScheduledTaskProperties.dll” (You can find this DLL on the adapter installation folder, by default, C:\Program Files (x86)\BizTalk ScheduledTask Adapter 6.0)
  • And select the options: “Overwrite all”, “Add to the global assembly cache on add resource (gacutil)” and “Add to the global assembly cache on MSI file install (gacutil)”

• Select “OK” button

This BHM load error regarding to MYHCQueries_MBVQueries.dll, that can may also occurs with MaintenanceRep.dll, is a very well-known problem/annoying issue that occurs after we install BizTalk Health Monitor or update it to a new version that will apply in all BizTalk versions (BizTalk Server 2016, 2013 R2, 2013 or 2010) and SO (Windows 10, Windows Server 2016, 2012 R2, 2012 and so on):

Could not load assembly file ‘file:///C:\Program files (x86)\BizTalkHealthMonitor\MYHCQueries_MBVQueries.dll’ or one of its dependencies. Operation is not supported. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x80131515)

CAUSE

That is one of that times that BizTalk Server team did a great job. Not only throw the error but they also explain the problem and the solution to solve it.

This error when BHM tries to load the repository files downloaded from the Microsoft Download Center (DLC). BHM is using two repositories for this configuration, these repository files (MYHCQueries_MBVQueries.dll and MaintenanceRep.dll) can be blocked by OS when downloading from DLC and may cause this issue.

Solution

Again, the solution to this problem is also explained in the error window:

• Close BHM
• Go to BHM installation folder
  • The default path is C:\Program files (x86)\BizTalkHealthMonitor
• Right-click in MYHCQueries_MBVQueries.dll and select “Properties” option

• You may see that the security warning at the bottom of the windows saying: “The file came from another computer and might be blocked to help protect this computer”
  • Check “Unblock” option and click “OK”

• Do the same steps for “MaintenanceRep.dll”

Once you have unblocked both files, you should no longer see the security warning when you go back into their properties and if you try to execute BHM again all the above-mentioned errors related to loading repositories should be resolved.

You may also find more details about this issue directly from BizTalk Health Monitor blog: BHM v3.2 – Errors While Loading Repositories.

Note:

• If you have not yet installed BHM, you can also follow the above steps on the unzipped package prior to installing BHM.

The post BHM Load Error: Could not load assembly file ‘file:///C:\Program files (x86)\BizTalkHealthMonitor\MYHCQueries_MBVQueries.dll’ or one of its dependencies appeared first on SANDRO PEREIRA BIZTALK BLOG.

We are used to having Service Pack (I think the last one was in 2006 R2) and Cumulative Updates for BizTalk Server (see the full list here) that basically brings hotfixes for BizTalk Server and adapter pack issues that were resolved after the release of that specific BizTalk Server version. Now Microsoft introduces a new concept in BizTalk Server 2016: Feature Packs.

BizTalk Server 2016 will use feature pack approach to providing new functionalities to the product at a faster pace. Now new features (or at least non-breaking features) will be delivered when they’re ready we no longer need to wait 2 years for the next major release of the product to have new features!

BizTalk Server uses the feature pack to provide improvements, features, and closer integration with Azure. Feature Pack 1 extends functionality in key areas, such as deployment, analytics, and runtime. – https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/mt800834.aspx

Feature Pack’s will be available for Software Assurance customers running BizTalk Server 2016 Developer and Enterprise editions or customers running BizTalk Server 2016 in Azure under an Enterprise Agreement

Should we expect new BizTalk Server Cumulative Updates?

Yes, Microsoft will continue to release CU to provide hotfixes for issues that were resolved in the same cadence as they have done in the past

Microsoft BizTalk Server 2016 Feature Pack 1: System Requirements

BizTalk Server 2016 Feature Pack 1 requirements:

• Microsoft BizTalk Server 2016 Enterprise Edition
• Microsoft BizTalk Server 2016 Developer Edition

Important note: is required to restart BizTalk Server machine to finish the FP1 installation process.

Note: Feature Packs are not supported in BizTalk Server 2016 Standard Edition.

Microsoft BizTalk Server 2016 Feature Pack 1: Step-by-step Installation Instructions

After you download the Microsoft BizTalk Server 2016 Feature Pack 1 You should:

• Run the downloaded .EXE file – BTS2016-KB4014788-ENU.exe – from your hard drive.
• In the “Welcome to Microsoft BizTalk Server Feature Pack 1 Installation Wizard” screen, click “Next”

• In the “License agreement” screen, select the option “I accept the terms of this license agreement” and then click “Next”

• In the “Ready to Install”, it will be provided a list of products that will be enhanced, you should click “Next” to continue with the installation.

• The FP1 installation will prompt a window with the list of services that will be restarted during the installation process, click “Yes” to continue with the installation.

• The installation process may take some minutes to complete, and you probably see some “background” windows to appear and to be completed, you should wait until the “Installation Wizard has completed” screen to appear
• In the “Installation Wizard has completed” screen, click “Finish”

• • Note: that you must restart BizTalk Server machine to finish the FP1 installation process. Click “Yes” to restart the server.

Once the restart is complete, you will be able to see and use the new following features:

• Deployment:
  • Deploy with VSTS – Enable Continuous Integration to automatically deploy and update applications using Visual Studio Team Services (VSTS)
  • New management APIs – Manage your environment remotely using the new REST APIs with full Swagger support
• Analytics:
  • Application Insights – Tap into the power of Azure for tracking valuable application performance and to better understand your workflow
  • Leverage operational data – View operational data from anywhere and with any device using Power BI
• Runtime:
  • Support for Always Encrypted – Use the WCF-SQL adapter to connect to SQL Server secure Always Encrypted columns
  • Advanced Scheduling – Set up advanced schedules using the new capabilities with Feature Pack 1

The post Microsoft BizTalk Server 2016 Feature Pack 1: Step-by-step Installation appeared first on SANDRO PEREIRA BIZTALK BLOG.

One of the first steps, while you are trying to configure BizTalk Server, is to provide the “Database server name” on the BizTalk Server <version> Configuration page. So far nothing new. However, in one of my recent BizTalk Server installations where we were using a SQL Server that was configured with a non-default port (1433), we encountered this bizarre problem:

BTS2016LAB01, 3431 is invalid because it contains one or more of the following characters: `~!@#$^*()+=[]{}|;'”<>?.

Cause

Well, the reason is obvious for all but in this case, a little stupid considering the current days. Of course, we all can understand that the special characters are not allowed and we cannot use it.

But was not our case, we are not using any special characters in the Database server name and if you check carefully, we catch the error while configuring the Group, which means that we already were able to create the SSO database in the SQL Server – so the database name was valid/correct.

And if there were really special characters in the Database server name, then the configuration wizard should be smart to validate on the BizTalk Server <version> Configuration page and do not to continue with the configuration.

I personally consider this as a bug in the BizTalk Server Configuration Wizard tool because in our case the real problem and the cause of this error was that we had provided the database name with a space between the server and the port: “BTS2016LAB01, 3431”

Solution

The solution to this problem is simple, first of all, and obviously, you cannot use any of the following special characters: `~!@#$^*()+=[]{}|;'”<>?. under the Database Server Name.

In our case, the solution was simple also, we just need to remove the empty space on the Database Server Name: “BTS2016LAB01,3431”

The post BizTalk Server Configuration error: is invalid because it contains one or more of the following characters: `~!@#$^*()+=[]{}|;’"<>?. appeared first on SANDRO PEREIRA BIZTALK BLOG.

“Cannot proceed with installation. Biztalk server pack is installed.”, it is not the first time that I encounter this problem, the first time was while I was trying to install Cumulative Update 2 for BizTalk Server 2016 ( the error that you can see in the picture below) and more recently while I was trying to install Cumulative Update 3:

Microsoft BizTalk Server 2016 CU2 [KB 4021095]

Cannot proceed with installation. Biztalk server pack is installed. Please install Cumulative Update for BizTalk Server Feature Pack.

Cause

There is this new “kid on the block” that was introduced by the BizTalk Server Product group in BizTalk Server 2016 that is call “BizTalk Server 2016 Feature Pack”.

Microsoft will use feature pack approach as a way to provide new and non-breaking functionalities to the product at a faster pace without the need for you to wait 2 years for the next major release of the product to have new features.

However, until know – Cumulative Update 3 for BizTalk Server 2016 – the Cumulative Updates are not aligned with the feature pack. And when I say: “Cumulative Updates are not aligned with the feature pack” I mean that when Microsoft releases a new BizTalk Server Cumulative Update:

• it will not be compatible with Feature Pack 1
• you can only install it on environments without BizTalk Server Feature Pack 1 installed, otherwise you will receive the error described above.
• you need to wait a few more days/weeks for Microsoft release a new update of BizTalk Server Feature Pack 1 with the Cumulative Update included

At least based on the history until now:

• Cumulative Update 1 for BizTalk Server 2016 released
• BizTalk Server Feature Pack 1 release
• Cumulative Update 2 for BizTalk Server 2016 released (not compatible with FP1)
• BizTalk Server Feature Pack 1 with the Cumulative Update 1 released
• Cumulative Update 3 for BizTalk Server 2016 released (not compatible with FP1)
• BizTalk Server Feature Pack 1 with the Cumulative Update 3

I do not know if this behavior will change in future versions of Cumulative Updates, I hope it does and all the new CU’s will be compatible with FP1.

Important Note: as an additional note, currently if you want to install FP1 you will be forced to install Cumulative Update 3 for BizTalk Server 2016 because it is now part of the Feature Pack… so you cannot install FP1 without it.

Solution

Of course, currently, this is a false issue because Microsoft already released an updated version of Feature Pack 1 with the latest CU. But if this behavior continues to occur in future CU’s versions, you have two options:

• Abdicate the Feature Pack by uninstalling it. And then you will be able to update your BizTalk Server environment with the latest fixes.
• Be patient, and wait a few days/weeks until Microsoft release an updated version of the Feature Pack compatible with the latest CU.

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