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SharePoint 2013: How to fully uninstall Workflow Manager 1.0

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Introduction

This posting walks through the process of completely removing the Workflow Manager 1.0 subsystem from a SharePoint 2013 farm.  All references used in developing this procedure are listed below.

Discussion

The Workflow Manager 1.0 subsystem, when fully installed to a SharePoint 2013 farm, consists of the following components:

  • Databases:

    • SbGatewayDatabase
    • SbManagement
    • SbMessageContainer01
    • WFInstanceManagement
    • WFManagement
    • WFResourceAutomation

  • Software:

    • Microsoft Web Platform Installer 4.6
    • Service Bus 1.0
    • Windows Fabric
    • Workflow Manager 1.0
    • Workflow Manager Client 1.0

  • SharePoint Service Applications

    • Workflow Service Application Proxy

  • Application Folders

    • Application Folder: C:\Program Files\Workflow Manager\

  • Registry Keys

    • HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Workflow Manager
    • HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Service Bus

  • Certificates

    • WorkflowOutbound
    • SSL
    • Encryption (can be the same certificate as used for SSL)
    • AppServerGeneratedSBCA

All of these components, except for the registry keys and certificates, must be removed.  The following procedure shows you how.

Procedure

  1. Leave the farm
    1. Launch the Workflow Manager Configuration Wizard as administrator.  Only this one option will be listed.
    2. Copy the current configuration for later reference.
  2. Uninstall Software
    1. Workflow Manager 1.0
    2. Workflow Manager 1.0 Client
    3. Windows Fabric
    4. Service Bus 1.0
  3. Remove Databases
    1. SbMessageContainer01
    2. SbGateway
    3. SbManagement
    4. WFInstanceManagement
    5. WFManagement
    6. WFResourceManagement
  4. Remove Service Application
    1. Workflow Service Application Proxy
  5. Remove application folder
    1. C:\Program Files\Workflow Manager\

References

  1. Getting started with SharePoint Server 2013 workflow
  2. Install and configure workflow for SharePoint Server 2013
  3. Uninstalling/Removing SharePoint 2013 Workflow Manager Farm
  4. Uninstall Workflow manager client
  5. what is opposite of "Register-SPWorkflowService"???
  6. Workflow Manager
    1. Configuring Workflow Manager 1.0 using Configuration Wizard
      1. Leaving a Farm
    2. Configuring Workflow Manager 1.0 using PowerShell
      1. Managing Farms and Nodes (Workflow Manager 1.0)
      2. Managing Certificates (Workflow Manager 1.0)
    3. Installing Workflow Manager 1.0
      1. Uninstalling Workflow
  7. Workflow in SharePoint Server 2013 FAQ
  8. How to uninstall Workflow Manager 1.0 when the command ‘Remove-WFHost’ does not work
  9. Workflow Manager Farms for SharePoint 2013 Part One: Core Concepts, High Availability, Certificate and SharePoint considerations
  10. Error when running workflow form list item - workflow manager SharePoint 2013

Notes

  • Uninstallation took approximately one hour, including taking screen shots and writing notes of the process.
  • The uninstallation was undertaken to address an issue that presented after installing the September 2014 CU.  The issue resulted in the Workflow Manager Backend service repeatedly stopping and then restarting.  This seemed to have caused all 2013 workflows to perform sluggishly or not at all.  After working through several possible solutions, the remaining one was to uninstall and then re-install the entire Workflow Manager 1.0 subsystem.  This resolved the problem.
  • UPDATE 03/02/16: later in December 2014, we found that the original issue was not due to the September 2014 CU patch but to a variable assignment issue in the workflow itself.