FIX: A cumulative hotfix package for Microsoft BizTalk RFID in Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006 R2 is now available

Problems that are fixed in this cumulative hotfix package

On a computer that is running Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006 R2, the following problems are fixed in this cumulative hotfix package:

Problem 1

If you set output values on digital input/output (I/O) ports that are built into radio frequency identification (RFID) readers, high latency occurs. For example, setting a color on a light stack may take a long time. This problem causes either a delay in operator tasks, or incorrect results in automated operations.

Problem 2

When the BizTalk RFID service is restarted while the service is receiving tag events from devices, some tag events are lost. In this situation, the loss of tag events occurs for a short time.

Problem 3

Device Discovery in Microsoft BizTalk RFID does not support the following two scenarios. After you apply the hotfix that this is described in this article, Device Discovery supports these scenarios correctly.

Scenario 1

Consider the following scenario:

• You are using RFID devices that use Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) to obtain IP addresses.
• After the DHCP lease expires and the lease is renewed, two devices (device 1 and device 2) swap IP addresses.

In this scenario, the BizTalk RFID Service considers device 2 to be the same as device 1. Therefore, BizTalk RFID processes that were originally bound to device 1 incorrectly receive events from device 2.

Scenario 2

BizTalk RFID treats different handheld devices that are running BizTalk RFID Mobile as the same device. For example, consider the following scenario:

• You are using ActiveSync.
• You dock handheld device 1.
• Device 1 has the parameters ID1-N1-C1.
  Note The parameters ID1-N1-C1 represent the Device ID, the Name, and the Connection Information.
• You add device 1 to BizTalk RFID.
• You undock device 1 and then you dock another device (device 2).

In this scenario, device 2 has the same IP address as device 1. This is because both devices use ActiveSync. Therefore, the BizTalk RFID service considers device 2 to be the same as device 1. Therefore, events that come from device 2 are delivered to processes that are bound to device 1.

Problem 4

The logging information is not written to one or more of the log files that are stored in the following folders:

• Microsoft BizTalk RFID\Process
• Microsoft BizTalk RFID\Provider
• Microsoft BizTalk RFID\Services

This problem occurs even though BizTalk RFID continues to process data as expected.

This problem may occur if a third-party tool or a custom tool has an open file handle to any RFID log file when the log file rotation starts. If a third-party tool or a custom tool has an open handle to an RFID log file when the log file rotation starts, the logging information is written to the cache. However, the logging information is not written to the log file as expected. Therefore, the log file is empty.

For more information about the log file rotation feature in BizTalk RFID, see the "More Information" section.

Problem 5

You use a Microsoft Office Excel workbook as an external data source to print labels in the RFID Print Label wizard. However, the mapped data fields do not print correctly. For example, only the data that is in the last row of the workbook is included on the printed labels.

Problem 6

In Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006 R2 Branch Edition, you try to add a new device and you receive an error message that resembles the following: After you install this cumulative hotfix package, you can install more than 20 devices in Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006 R2 Branch Edition.

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, submit a request to Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site: Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.

Prerequisites

You must have Microsoft BizTalk RFID 2006 R2 installed to apply this hotfix. Additionally, you must have hotfix 972449 installed on your computer before you apply this hotfix. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Restart information

You must restart the computer after you apply this hotfix.

Registry information

You do not have to change the registry.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix replaces KB959526.

File information

This hotfix contains only those files that are required to correct the issues that this article lists. This hotfix may not contain all the files that you must have to fully update a product to the latest build.

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time item in Control Panel.

BizTalk Server 2006 R2, x86 version

BizTalk Server 2006 R2, X64 version

Note Because of file dependencies, the most recent hotfix that contains these files may also contain additional files.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

In BizTalk RFID, the current Rfidservices.log file is renamed when the maximum log file size is reached, and the following events occur:

• The Rfidservices.log file is renamed as "Rfidservices_1.log."
• A new Rfidservices.log file is created.

When the maximum log file size is reached again, the following events occur:

• The current Rfidservices.log file is renamed to "Rfidservices_1.log."
• The current Rfidservices_1.log file is renamed to "Rfidservices_2.log."
• A new Rfidservices.log file is created.

However, if a third-party tool or a custom tool has an open handle to any RFID log file when the file log rotation starts, the current Rfidservices.log file is not renamed. Therefore, the logging data in the cache is not written to a log file as expected.

To control the maximum log file size, and to control how much disk space is used by the log files, you can configure the following settings in BizTalk RFID:

• Log Size
  The Log Size value is the maximum size of a log file before the log file rotation occurs.
• Number of log files
  The Number of log files value is the maximum number of log files that are stored when the log file rotation occurs. For example, if the Number of log files value is 2, the existing Rfidservices_1.log file is not renamed to "Rfidservices_2.log" when the log file rotation occurs. Instead, the existing file is deleted.

Note To configure the Log Size and Number of log files settings, follow these steps:

1. Start the RFID Manager.
2. Right-click the server and then click Properties.
3. Click Logging.

You may experience a problem in which the logging information is not written to one or more of the log files. To work around this problem, restart the service, restart the process, or restart the provider. To determine the correct action, follow these guidelines:

• If the logging information is not written to a service log, restart the Microsoft BizTalk RFID service.
• If the logging information is not written to a provider log, restart the provider.
• If the logging information is not written to a process log, restart the process.

To help prevent this problem, do not use third-party tools or custom tools that continuously read the BizTalk RFID logs.

For more information about software update terminology, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: