Failed to create the SQL database Source="SSO"

Recently I tried to configure BizTalk 2010 on which Visual Studio 2010 was already installed.
I could not configure SSO and got the following error message in the log file.

Failed to create the SQL database Source="SSO" HelpID=""><Exception Message="(0xC0002A21) An error occurred while attempting to access the SSO database.

It also said to check the eventlog for more details but there was no error in Eventlog.

Finally I traced the issue that it was because of  the  missing folders on the SQL Server machine so SQL Server could not create the databases and log files.
I found it out by using SQL Profiler and activating all types of Events.

I knew of many SSO Errors so tried everything like registering SSOSQL.dll and other fixes but never imagined it could be because of SQL not been configured properly.

BizTalk 2013 R2 database migration from SQL 2012 to 2014

On my Virtual PC which had BizTalk 2013 R2 configured with SQL 2012 as database server I thought of installing SQL 2014 and try using the new features of Column Store and see how it can help run the Integrations faster.
In this post I will show you how I migrated my existing BizTalk databases from SQL 2012 to 2014 which is installed on the machine.

•  Take Backup of all BizTalk databases from SQL 2012 and Restore it on to SQL 2014.
  

•  Create Scripts of all BizTalk SQL Jobs from SQL 2012 and execute it on to SQL 2014.
  

•  Create Scripts of all BizTalk SQL Logins from SQL 2012 and execute it on to SQL 2014.
  

•  Update the SampleUpdateInfo.xml file found in the following location with info of the current and the new SQL Server. For me current SQL 2012 was on KIWI server and the New SQL 2014 Server is on KIWI\SQL14.
  C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft BizTalk Server 2010\Bins32\Schema\Restore
  

•  Run the UpdateDatabase.vbs file which is found in the same folder which updates the Server references in the tables on the new SQL Server.
  

•  Run the UpdateRegistry.vbs file which is found in the same folder which updates the System Registry key references on the Server.
  

•  Finally I went into BizTalk Admin Console to check if the references were updated successfully and yes it did update everything.
  

Finally I would give credit to the following old Microsoft document which still holds true for  the new versions of BizTalk\SQL Server ;).
How to Restore Your Databases

Upgrading bug: BizTalk 2010 to BizTalk 2013 R2

Hi,
Upgrading has been made easy with newer versions of BizTalk. I recently upgraded the BizTalk software from 2010 version to 2013 R2.
Here are few screenshots....Important is the last screenshot.. :)

Here it talks about Pre-Actions required.
Stop WorldWide Web Publishing Service.
Start Enterprise SIngle SignOn Service.

Since I had selected to install Developer Tools also...it gives me an Error with missing prerequisites.
I installed Visual Studio 2013 and then continued on.

"Buckle your seatbelts....there are no Airbags to save you in this crash ride".
Microsoft will not rollback the databases if the Upgrade fails.
I did ensure that I had a backup of all the databases.

Forgot to stop RuleEngine Update Service.

And Finally the surprise...........

Seems Microsoft forgot to rename the Folder from "BizTalk Server 2010" in Program Files to "BizTalk Server 2013 R2" but product got upgraded successfully.

Hope they will fix this soon ;).

BizTalk 2013 Installation Bug: Enterprise Single Sign-On Error

While Installing BizTalk I received the following Error that Enterprise Single Sign-On should be installed manually.

Well this had not occured while installing previous versions of BizTalk. So I was a little bit curious as to what am I missing on the Server.

So I started installing the redistributable prerequisites manually as this is what BizTalk installation does first.

What I noticed is 

After installing .Net Framework 4.5 from the .cab file I tried to run the BizTalk installation again as normal and selected the .cab file I downloaded.

And it worked fine and BizTalk 2013 was installed successfully with Enterprise Single Sign-On and all other features.

So seems Enterprise Single Sign-On  installation needs .Net Framework 4.5 to be in  place before it can be installed and BizTalk Installation is messing it up somewhere while installing the redistributable prerequisites.

BAM configuration failure in BizTalk 2013

HI,
Seems the BizTalk 2013 Installation software has not been tested properly.
I got many errors which I could google and fix it but this one was odd about BAM configuration failed with following error.

ERROR: Encountered error while executing command on SQL Server "".A network-related or instance-specific error occurred while establishing a connection to SQL Server. The server was not found or was not accessible. Verify that the instance name is correct and that SQL Server is configured to allow remote connections. (provider: Named Pipes Provider, error: 40 - Could not open a connection to SQL Server)The system cannot find the file specified (Microsoft.BizTalk.Bam.CfgExtHelper.Utility)
[ Error BAMConfigWizExt] 

Solution was to install the latest Cumulative update and try again without Server restart and it worked fine and BAM was configured correctly.
BizTalk Cumulative Update Link


Till now Core Product configuration(SSO,Group,Runtime) was not messed up by Microsoft in all versions (2004 till 2010) I installed/configured. I normally used to install Cumulative update after I am done configuring default BizTalk features or maybe it was a wrong way of doing it  :) .

ItemTemplate missing

I had this wierd Error where I could not add a new Orchestration to my project.

I did not find the template for it when I clicked Add New Item.

Luckily I remembered I had installed a hotfix a day before and that could have messd the Template bindings.

So I knew I had to install only the templates again.

I did it by running the following command as mentioned in the link below and it helped.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms241279(v=vs.80).aspx

devenv.exe /InstallVSTemplates

I restarted Visual Studio and my templates were back again. 

BizTalk 2013 Beta released!

The BizTalk Server Team recently announced the arrival of the new beta version of the next generation of Integration Product of BizTalk Server called BizTalk Server 2013.
Its a major release lined up with SQL 2012,Visual Studio 2012,Windows 2012.
For more information read here.
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/biztalk_server_team_blog/archive/2012/11/06/announcing-biztalk-server-2013-beta.aspx