How to properly register a custom BizTalk Server Adapter

In this last week, I’ve been migrating legacy custom adapters from previous BizTalk Versions (2004 and 2006) for a recent version of BizTalk Server (2010 and 2013). In this particular case is an Isolated Adapter that in fact is a socket listener that will be listening on one or more TCP ports for a custom and private message format to address and solve an integration problem with legacy platforms of one of my clients. Working and creating custom adapter it’s always a funny task, it makes me remember and come back to my roots of .NET developer and how much I love this job.

Note: It’s also important to remember that recent version of BizTalk Server normally runs under 64-bit and because BizTalk Administration Console runs under 32-bits it’s imperative to register the adapter in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the BizTalk Adapter, at least if you want the adapter to run under 64-bit, nevertheless you always need to register under 32-bit.

If you are developing a custom adapter, you can register it with BizTalk Server by modifying and running one of the registry files included with the sample file adapter in the software development kit (SDK). Or, you can use the Adapter Registry Wizard to create a registry file. You can learn more about this topic here: Registering an Adapter.

Although it is a migration of an existing adapter which has worked correctly over several years I decided to optimize the adapter to run on new versions of NET Framework (4.0) and also to support 64-bit. The question and the main reason for this post will be: How to properly register this custom BizTalk adapter?

How to properly register a custom BizTalk adapter

Again and this is very important:

• On a 32-bit machine, the registry (.reg) file generated by the Adapter Registration wizard must be run from the command prompt.
• On a 64-bit machine, the registry (.reg) file generated by the Adapter Registration wizard must be run both from the 32-bit and 64-bit command prompt.

So if you are on a 32-bit machine you only need to run the adapter registry (.reg) from the command prompt or even double-click on the adapter registry (.reg) file.

However, if you are on a 64-bit machine you need extra steps:

• Run the adapter registry (.reg) from the command prompt or even double-click in adapter registry (.reg) file – this will register the adapter under 64-bit.

If you try to check and add this new adapter in the BizTalk Administration Console (Adding the Adapter to BizTalk Server) you will notice that the adapter will not be present and referenced in the Adapter dropbox.

• So now you need to force to do the same in 32-bit, to accomplish that you need to open a 32-bit command prompt:
  • Click Start.
  • Type %windir%\SysWoW64\cmd.exe in Start Search box and press Enter
  • Run the same adapter registry (.reg) from this command prompt

Again, if you try to check and add this new adapter in the BizTalk Administration Console you will notice that the adapter now will be present in the dropbox.

Author: Sandro Pereira

Sandro Pereira lives in Portugal and works as a consultant at DevScope. In the past years, he has been working on implementing Integration scenarios both on-premises and cloud for various clients, each with different scenarios from a technical point of view, size, and criticality, using Microsoft Azure, Microsoft BizTalk Server and different technologies like AS2, EDI, RosettaNet, SAP, TIBCO etc. He is a regular blogger, international speaker, and technical reviewer of several BizTalk books all focused on Integration. He is also the author of the book “BizTalk Mapping Patterns & Best Practices”. He has been awarded MVP since 2011 for his contributions to the integration community. View all posts by Sandro Pereira