BizTalk Accelerator for RosettaNet (BTARN)
Using BizTalk Accelerator for RosettaNet (BTARN)? If so, this information should be useful. This product does not have the large user base like BizTalk. This can lead to slower discovery of issues. This blog will provide some general help and also specifically deal with installation and configuration issues.
General
Knowledge Base Articles (KB)
If a KB has a workaround assume this will be the case for all versions (3.0, 3.3, and 3.5). It takes time to update the KB's and fixes are rarely done if a reasonable workaround exists.
Virtual Machines
Using virtual boxes can be challenging when using test boxes with limited resources. If experiencing difficulties, reboot the host and limit other running applications. If this doesn't resolve the issue, try installing on a physical machine to verify the problem is related to the virtual box.
Always inform the support engineer if using a virtual box on a support call. This will not prevent support for the issue. There are some limitations. For example, in most cases frontline support can't get help from the product team until the problem is reproduced on physical hardware. The upside is this may be a known behavior and already have a solution. This is a much better scenario than troubleshooting for hours (days) just to find out the problem was related to virtual machines.
Installation
When preparing for BTARN installation, take the time to read the installation support. I've installed the software many times and I frequently have issues because I forgot something. Don't assume the software will catch the errors or the errors will be easy to troubleshoot.
Start with a new BizTalk configuration to have the best chance of a trouble free installation. This helps because BTARN looks for trusted default hosts named BizTalkServerApplication and BizTalkServerIsolatedHost hosts. Use the same account for both and use different windows groups. This is not optional so go ahead and configure BizTalk. BTARN requires it be installed in the default application. Now would be a good time to create an application called "RosettaNet". Then set it as the default application.
Don't use SQL named instances (sqlServer\instanceName). There is an issue causing installation to fail without error.
The account used for the installation needs to be a member of the BizTalk administration group.
Configuration
KB942849
Install BTARN on a computer running BizTalk Server 2006 R2, the Configuration.exe fails. The process is listed as a running process in Task Manager. After several seconds the process exits without any errors. No error is recorded in the event or configuration logs. This behavior requires a hot fix.
Multi-box Issue
If the configuration succeeds on the first box, but then the following error displays on other boxes in the group during cofiguration:
An instance of the host 'BizTalkServerIsolatedHost' was found on this computer, but is not running as the user account 'DomainName\BTARNService'. Use the BizTalk Administration Console to reconfigure the host to run as 'DomainName\BTARNService'.
To resolve this problem follow the steps listed previously then:
1. Add a server instance to both the in-process and the isolated host for each computer.
2. Add a new instance of the HTTP adapter and configure it to run under the trusted isolated host.
3. Make sure the RNIF_Async_Receive and RNIF_Sync_Receive locations are bound to the trusted isolated host.
SQL Named Instances
If configuring BTARN with a named SQL instance the configuration will fail without error. A close review of the config log will show something like:
[1:11:55 PM Error ConfigHelper] Windows NT user or group SQLServer\SQLInstace\BizTalk Application Users' not found.
Note the group name is incorrectly using the SQL named instance. This requires a hot fix (KB956766).
BTARN with SharePoint
When configuring Microsoft BizTalk Accelerator for RosettaNet the following error message displays:
Error Configuration Framework]Feature: [Runtime] Failed to configure with error message [<Exception Message="Unexpected exception occurred while configuring [Runtime]." Source="" HelpID=""><Exception Message="Attempted to read or write protected memory. This is often an indication that other memory is corrupt." Source="Configuration" HelpID="" /></Exception>]
Try changing "localhost" to the name of the box (netbios name) in the configuration console.
Configuration GUI Failures
Try running the BTARN installation in silent mode (/s) if the configuration console fails to open. This requires an XML file be created with the configuration values. This has proven to be a trouble-free way to configure BTARN. The alternative is to troubleshoot and this has proven to be difficult. The silent configuration is fully supported.