SYSPRO 8 Workflow Service

Exploring

This service allows any client or server application to communicate with workflows executing on the server.

The workflows and their endpoints are exposed as SOAP and REST endpoints. This simplifies developing and integrating applications to SYSPRO Workflow Services.

This service is used by:

  • SYSPRO Workflow Services

  • The default location for this service is:

    Program Files > SYSPRO > SYSPRO 8 Workflow Service

Overview topic

SYSPRO Services

PDF and Video Resources

Install Guides

Starting

  • Microsoft .NET Framework 4.6

  • SYSPRO 8 Service Upgrade Manager

  • SYSPRO 8 e.net Communications Load Balancer

    A valid endpoint must be configured in the Setup Options program of SYSPRO 8.

  • The SYSPRO 8 Workflow Service must be set to Automatic (Delayed Start) as it requires the SYSPRO 8 e.net Communications Load Balancer to be started first.

  • This service is installed using the SYSPRO Installer Application.

Solving

You can debug this service by editing the associated config file in elevated mode (i.e. with administrator privileges).

The SYSPROWorkflowHostService.exe.config file is located in the folder to which you installed the service.

You can view monitoring and troubleshooting messages about this service using the Event Viewer function in Windows:

(Control Panel > System and Security Administrative Tools > Event Viewer > Applications and Service Logs)

This service outputs an event log to the SYSPROSWS file.

If you add a <DetailedLog> setting with a value of true, then this switches on logging for the workflow service. This records all calls to the workflow service as well as the workflow services' interaction with SYSPRO itself. This can be extremely useful when debugging whether calls reached workflow, whether workflows are starting up correctly and any other unexpected errors.

A SYSPROWorkflowHost.dll.log and a SYSPROWorkflowHostWrapper.dll log file is created in the SYSPRO Workflow Services install directory. The SYSPROWorkflowHost log will include all workflow service calls made and the SYSPROWorkflowHostWrapper log will include details about workflows starting up, becoming faulted, retiring, deploying and restarted.

You can start, stop, restart and configure this service using the Services function in Windows:

(Control Panel > System and Security Administrative Tools > Services)

Referencing

You should only update this file for temporary debugging purposes (i.e. not as a method to update values for the service).

Any temporary changes made to the configuration files are reset to their original installation values when this application is next updated. Because these temporary changes are not carried forward, forgetting that you made them could hamper troubleshooting efforts if unexpected issues arise.

Key Description

servicebaseaddress

This defines the address at which the SYSPRO 8 Workflow Service will be hosted. This excludes any ports that are used and is simply the name of the address.

serviceexternalbaseaddress

This is the external base address and is used for external calls into the workflow such as links from emails.

servicesoapbinding

The communication binding for the service to use for SOAP communication

servicerestport

This is the port that the service will use to host the REST endpoint. You must add the REST port to the firewall manually.

servicesoapport

This is the port that the service will use to host the SOAP endpoint. If set, SOAP communication must be performed using an address that includes the port number (e.g. http://localhost:{PortNumber}/SYSPROWCFService/Soap).

instancekey

This indicates the default instance of SYSPRO with which the service will communicate. SYSPRO instances are reflected in your Windows Registry to identify the \Base folder of your SYSPRO install where the necessary .dll and .exe files are located.

disabledcompanies

This defines the companies (separated by a semi-colon) that should be ignored on startup by the SYSPRO 8 Workflow Service (e.g. companies that don't have workflows deployed or don't use workflows).

persistencedelay

This defines how long a workflow can be idle before it is persisted to the database. An idle workflow includes workflows waiting in delay activities, receive activities and even long running activities such as those calling business objects or sending emails. Lowering this value will increase the load on SQL.

notificationtemplate

This defines the file path relative to the service install of the html template of email notifications sent by the workflow service. By changing this file or file path, the notification emails can be changed to use company-specific branding and formatting of messages.

sysprooutputtransform

These define the filepath relative to the service install of XSL transform files used to transform raw XML returned by the workflow service REST API into user friendly html. These transforms can be changed to use company-specific branding and customized formatting of outputs from the REST API for lists of workflows, workflow instances, tracking data and all other workflow outputs such as Message sent to workflow successfully.

sysprolistoutputtransform

This defines the xsl transform to use when generating output from the service when opened from a browser or email link.

sysprotrackingtransform

This defines the xsl transform to use when generating output from the service when opened from a browser or email link.

sysproinstancestransform

This defines the xsl transform to use when generating output from the service when opened from a browser or email link.

safemode

This puts the SYSPRO 8 Workflow Service into safe mode (i.e. prevents workflows that could possibly cause the workflow service to crash on startup from starting or deploying). The administrator can then manually start each of these workflows in order to diagnose which workflow is at fault. Use with extreme caution at a live site.

faultedretrydelay

This allows workflows to automatically restart versions of workflows that have faulted due to unstable network conditions. Faulted retry delay sets the time taken between a workflow faulting and trying to restart it.

faultedretryattempts

This sets the number of times the workflow service should try to restart the faulted workflow version. Sometimes workflow versions may be unable to restart initially depending on whether network conditions are still a problem. It is therefore important to tune this settings based on the type of environment, the regularity with which workflow is called and the overall stability of the system.

sqlcommandtimeout

This sets the time that every workflow SQL command (specifically to the workflow database) can take before timing out. This can be useful in environments with unstable SQL connections where it may exceed the default one minute in certain instances.

usewcf

This is the SYSPRO e.net WCF Service address that the SYSPRO 8 Workflow Service will use to connect to SYSPRO.