Notification Workflow 2.1 Implementation Tips
By: Pete Zerger, MCSE(Messaging)
Here are some tips for administrators implementing Notification Workflow for the first time, including common stumbling points and troubleshooting tips. Also see my Notification Workflow SA 2.1 Quickstart Guide available HERE.
Installation
Get the documentation together - the installation guide that comes with the app is incomplete.KB894486 was released to augment the original Notification Workflow installation guide. Add to this the installation guide for the Notification Workflow 2.1 hotfix and you have enough to complete the installation.
Beware of minor errata in the accompanying KB894486. http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;894486
If you wish to use a remote SMTP server, (which is a good idea) the following section of the KB suggests pasting the following value into appconfig.xml. The utf-16 value for bodyencoding results in Chinese characters in the notification emails in my experience. Change this value to utf-8 and you should be good to go.
<Argument>
<Name>SmtpServer</Name>
<Value>EXCHSERVER</Value>
</Argument>
<Argument>
<Name>BodyEncoding</Name>
<Value>utf-16</Value>
</Argument>
NOTE: You can avoid any documentation concerns altogether by using my Quickstart Guide for Notification Workflow SA 2.1.
Add the directory where the NSCONTROL utility resides to the path statement. Some of the scripts that come with NWSA (such as the one with the hotfix), do not seem to work unless the NSCONTROL utility in the path. Again, I have laid out the manual sequence of statements in the quickstart guide.
Pay attention to the prerequisites. For example, failing to make cscript the default script engine typically results in installation failure.
Troubleshooting Failed or Problem NWSA Installations
Before re-attempting an installation, delete any trace of previous attempts. A failed install leaves behind the %programfiles%\microsoft\notification workflow and subdirectories, and potentially the NotificationWorkflowNotificationWorkflowApp and NotificationWorkflowNSMain databases.
Delete all the above before re-attempting installation.
Check the Logs
NWSA Error Log - During installation, errors are logged to a file in the %programfiles%\notification workflow\notification workflow directory, detailing where the application failed. After a failed installation, take a look at this log for details on the failure.
Event Logs - Both SQL Notification Services and Notification Workflow log errors to the Application Event log, for example, when e-mail alert delivery fails or the application malfunctions.
Performance Counters
Notification Workflow includes 9 performance objects that can help you ascertain where the application is failing. Just add all counters for all objects and have a look. There are many I watch, but here are a couple that can help sort out where the problem might lie:
notificationworkflow:alertsubscription \ Subscribers Enabled and Subscriptions Enabled (if this is 0, either you haven't created a subscription through the NWSA web interface or the application is not reading your subscription from the database. Most likely, you need to go add an alert subscription. See the NWSA User Guide for instructions.
notificationworkflow:generator \ Quanta Processed and Quanta Behind counters - Quanta processed should be incrementing by 1 for each quanta interval of time as entered during the installation (15 seconds if you follow the sample in my guide), and Quanta Behind is hopefully 0, indicating NWSA is keeping up with the volume of alerts generated by MOM.
notificationworkflow:alertnotification Rule Firings and Rule Firings Failures – If Rule Firings increments, it should mean notifications are headed to you via email, which leaves:
notificationworkflow: Notifications Failed Delivery and Notifications Successfully Delivered If Notifications Failed Delivery increments, it means the SMTP server you specified in the appconfig.xml is likely denying relay or otherwise malfunctioning. If Notifications Successfully Delivered increments, but you still don’t get an email, check the target e-mail system where your mailbox resides.
Usage
Duplicate Alerts – Duplicate alerts means you’ve likely setup multiple subscriptions for yourself, and the two overlap. Remember, setting severity of Error in your alert subscription really means Error or higher.
No Alert Description Detail – This means you likely selected the ‘Limited Text’ checkbox when setting up your subscriber device.
I hope you’ll find this information helpful. Your feedback is always welcome at administrator@momresources.org