Microsoft is pleased to announce the release of SharePoint Workflow Manager, a new workflow engine to power the SharePoint 2013 Workflows platform for SharePoint Server and replace Service Bus and Microsoft Workflow Manager.
SharePoint Workflow Manager is compatible with SharePoint Server 2013, 2016, 2019, and Subscription Edition. We recommend that all SharePoint Server customers using SharePoint 2013 Workflows upgrade to SharePoint Workflow Manager as soon as they’re able to. Microsoft will focus all future investments and maintenance on SharePoint Workflow Manager rather than Microsoft Workflow Manager, including providing support beyond the year 2026.
Microsoft will continue to provide technical support for existing deployments of Service Bus and Microsoft Workflow Manager until the version of SharePoint Server they’re being used with reaches end of support, or until July 14, 2026, whichever comes first.
Be aware that the Service Bus and Microsoft Workflow Manager installers are no longer available from the Microsoft Web Platform Installer (WebPI). Customers who need new SharePoint 2013 workflow engine installations can only install SharePoint Workflow Manager.
You can download SharePoint Workflow Manager from Download Center.
For more details about the support lifecycle information see below:
- SharePoint Workflow Manager – Lifecycle
- Microsoft Workflow Manager 1.0 – Lifecycle
- Service Bus for Windows Server – Lifecycle
See the official announcement from Bill Bär on the Microsoft SharePoint Blog.
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Thanks for the information. Is it still necessary to install the package on an separate machine or can it be installed on a SharePoint machine?
Thanks!
Br
Rene
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Hi Rene,
no changes for SharePoint Workflow Manager – it can also be installed on the same server or on a separate server as SharePoint. The guidance is the same as in this article:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/governance/install-and-configure-workflow-for-sharepoint-server#install-workflow-manager
Cheers,
Stefan
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Thanks!
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Since they say this will support beyond 2016, is there any word on what they will provide for designing workflows beyond 2026 since SP Designer is going away?
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Hi Dominique,
the recommendation is to use Visual Studio to create and edit workflows after SharePoint Designer 2013 reaches end of support in 2026.
Cheers,
Stefan
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Good to hear that the 2013 workflows are not dead yet 😊.
A question…
Our Microsoft Workflow Manager 1.0 currently runs on three separate windows 2012 servers. Because the support for windows server 2012 expires this year, we will start a migration to newer windows servers.
How do you see the migration path in this new situation?
First migrate the Microsoft workflow manager 1.0 to new windows servers and then upgrade to the new SharePoint workflow manager?
Or can I migrate directly to new windows servers with SharePoint workflow manager?
Thanks,
Johan
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Hi Johan,
Microsoft Workflow Manager 1.0 is out of support since January 10th.
I would recommend to setup a new SharePoint Workflow Manager farm on current Operating System and connect SharePoint to the new workflow manager farm.
Cheers,
Stefan
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Thank you for the quick response!
Won’t I lose all my existing workflow configuration in this scenario?
Or can I connect the new SharePoint workflow manager to the existing workflow databases?
Kind regards,
Johan
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Hi Johan,
based on the instructions we have and which are outlined in the install instructions section of this page
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=104867
you can attach the new SharePoint Workflow Manager to the old databases as this is a required step during the inplace upgrade.
But there are other things to consider when using a new SharePoint Workflow Manager farm like the certificate exchange when connecting SharePoint manager to the workflow manager farm and the Workflow Host Uri being specified when connecting the farms.
I had a quick chat with some colleagues about this and our conclusion is that the savest steps as of now would be to do an upgrade of the OS of the existing Microsoft Workflow Manager 1.0 server machines to a new OS and then follow the instructions in the above article to perform an upgrade of Microsoft Workflow Manager 1.0 to SharePoint workflow manager.
If you plan to use new server machines rather than an OS upgrade of the existing machines our recommendation would be to either wait for further documentation to become available which covers your scenario or to open an advisory case with Microsoft support to ensure that we can investigate this in more detail.
Cheers,
Stefan
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Hi,
I’m going for an upgrade of our existing workflow manager 1.0 servers. The servers has already been upgraded from Windows Server 2012 R2 to Windows Server 2019.
The workflows continue to run smoothly. So far so good…
Now I follow the documentation for installing Microsoft Workflow manager.
Removed the server from the workflow farm, uninstall al the old stuff, install Azure Service Fabric Runtime and the new Microsoft Workflow manager bits and then rejoin the workflow farm with the new software. The first command gives already an error…
[Progress] [10/03/2023 16:30:52]: Validating input and configuration parameters.
[Error] [10/03/2023 16:31:08]: System.Management.Automation.CmdletInvocationException: The given key was not present in the dictionary. —> System.Collections.Generic.KeyNotFoundException: The given key was not present in the dictionary.
at System.ThrowHelper.ThrowKeyNotFoundException()
at System.Collections.Generic.Dictionary`2.get_Item(TKey key)
at Microsoft.ServiceBus.Commands.AddSBHost.ValidatePorts()
at Microsoft.ServiceBus.Commands.AddSBHost.ProcessRecordImplementation()
at Microsoft.ServiceBus.Commands.ServiceBusBaseCmdlet.ProcessRecord()
at System.Management.Automation.CommandProcessor.ProcessRecord()
Has anyone already completed the inplace upgrade without errors?
Kind regards,
Johan
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I will open an advisory case to be sure.
Thanks,
Johan
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Mine went flawless. Here’s the steps I used:
Service Fabric removal and installation
1. Uninstall Service Fabric currently installed on the server.
2. I downloaded the following file and ran it:
a. MicrosoftServiceFabric.9.1.1436.9590.exe
b. Elevated Powershell or Command Prompt:
i. MicrosoftServiceFabric.9.1.1436.9590.exe /AcceptEULA
Workflow Manager Leave Farm and ReJoin
1. Remove Workflow Manager farm first.
2. Then uninstall the Workflow Manager, Workflow Manager Client and Service Bus 1.1 from Control Panel.
3. Remove the entire folder for Workflow Manager under C:\program files\, otherwise the SharePoint Workflow Manager and client will fail.
4. Install the SharePoint files:
a. sharepointworkflowmanager.msi
b. sharepointworkflowmanagerclient_x64
c. I did not reinstall any Service Bus app.
5. Rejoin the Workflow Manager farm.
5a. Relaunch Workflow Manager config and click on Upgrade Workflow Manager Farm.
6. There was no need to register the proxy.
7. I did reboot to make sure all services were running.
8. If the SharePoint Workflow Manager 2013 is not showing in Designer, delete the designer cache on your workstation.
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Thanks for the info!
I did all these steps again but it failed immediately at the first step when adding the service bus. Someone from Microsoft is currently looking into this issue. As soon as we have the solution, I post it here.
Regards,
Johan
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Hi,
For those who get the same error message as me when running the configuration wizard…(System.Collections.Generic.KeyNotFoundException: The given key was not present in the dictionary.)
My upgrade problem has been solved thanks to MS support.
Solution: Before joining the existing farm with the new SPWFM installation, I had to upgrade the ServiceBus farm first via this powershell script:
$SQL = “sql”
$SBManDB = “SbManagementDB”
$SBCertificateAutoGenerationKey = ConvertTo-SecureString -AsPlainText -Force -String ‘YourCertGenKeyHere’
Invoke-SBFarmUpgrade -SBFarmDBConnectionString “Data Source=$SQL;Initial Catalog=$SBManDB;Integrated Security=True;Encrypt=False” -CertificateAutoGenerationKey $SBCertificateAutoGenerationKey
After that, my problem was solved.
Regards
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I’m running through the process of upgrading right now. But it is coming up with an error (I am doing it in test (never installed) and our DEV (removed everything completely).
Happens right at the beginning of the install. New-SBFarm:
New-SBFarm -SBFarmDBConnectionString ‘Data Source=SQL-Server-Name;Initial Catalog=SbManagementDB;Integrated Security=True;Encrypt=False’ -InternalPortRangeStart 9000 -TcpPort 9354 -MessageBrokerPort 9356 -RunAsAccount ‘SP\spWFMsvc’ -AdminGroup ‘BUILTIN\Administrators’ -GatewayDBConnectionString ‘Data Source=SQL-Server-Name;Initial Catalog=SbGatewayDatabase;Integrated Security=True;Encrypt=False’ -CertificateAutoGenerationKey $SBCertificateAutoGenerationKey -MessageContainerDBConnectionString ‘Data Source=SQL-Server-Name;Initial Catalog=SBMessageContainer01;Integrated Security=True;Encrypt=False’ -Verbose;
New-SBFarm : Object reference not set to an instance of an object.
At line:1 char:1
+ New-SBFarm -SBFarmDBConnectionString ‘Data Source=SQL-Server-Name. …
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+ CategoryInfo : NotSpecified: (:) [New-SBFarm], NullReferenceException
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.NullReferenceException,Microsoft.ServiceBus.Commands.NewSBFarm
Thought I would check-in here first before creating a ticket with MS.
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Ok. I just needed to install the Azure Fabric first. (Got ahead of myself) At least if anyone else runs into this they will see the error message.
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Hey Stefan,
Q: We have Workflow manager 1.0 running on windows server 2016 already. Do you know if an in-place upgrade (install media file on same server) will upgrade to SharePoint Workflow Manager or do we need o uninstall first and then install SPWFM ? Cant find any documentation to upgrade and preserver existing workflows. Thoughts ?
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Hi Umr,
please have a look at the Install Instructions of the Download Page for SharePoint Workflow Manager. It answers this question and others:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=104867
In short: uninstall and reinstall – but there are several steps involved.
Cheers,
Stefan
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Thanks Stefan.
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The instruction is about in-place upgrade. What about the database attached approach where SharePoint Workflow Manager are installed on new servers but then connect to the backup copies of the existing Workflow Manager databases? Is it even possible?
Thanks,
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Hi Phu,
we currently do not have documentation on this.
If you need that, please open a support case to ensure that we can investigate this.
Cheers,
Stefan
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Thanks. I just opened an advisory case with MS.
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Hi Stefan,
I’ve noticed that Service Fabric, installed per directions for Workflow Manager, is generating some 2GB of logfiles per day, mainly in the SF\Log\Traces folder. Changing the initial configuration does not appear to affect this, probably as the Workflow Manager reconfigures Service Fabric from the install state when you join the farm. Is there any way of addressing this, other than scheduling a deletion script?
Cheers
Bob
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Hi Bob,
thanks for reporting this.
It would be great if you could open a ticket with Microsoft support to ensure that we can investigate this in more detail.
Cheers,
Stefan
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Thanks Stefan, we’ve raised a support request.
Cheers
Bob
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We’ve now been advised that the problem is acknowledged, and a fix will be developed and released through official channels, but is not expected for several months. In the meantime, a scheduled task keeps the logs under control.
Cheers
Bob
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I had the same issue. There are some schedule tasks enabling these fabric logs. I believe there were 2. Disable them and the logs will stop. I can’t remember the name of these scheduled tasks of the top of my head.
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Microsoft has released a beta test application that does not work. It cannot be installed!
[Error] [15.03.2023 1:07:50]: System.Management.Automation.CmdletInvocationException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object. —> System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.
at Microsoft.ServiceBus.Commands.WinfabDeploymentHelper.GetServiceFabricRegistryValue(String name)
at Microsoft.ServiceBus.Commands.SBServerInfo.GetSBServerInfo()
at Microsoft.ServiceBus.Commands.NewSBFarmBase.ProcessRecordImplementation()
at Microsoft.ServiceBus.Commands.ServiceBusBaseCmdlet.ProcessRecord()
at System.Management.Automation.CommandProcessor.ProcessRecord()
— End of inner exception stack trace —
at System.Management.Automation.Runspaces.AsyncResult.EndInvoke()
at System.Management.Automation.PowerShell.EndInvoke(IAsyncResult asyncResult)
at Microsoft.Workflow.Deployment.ConfigWizard.CommandletHelper.InvokePowershell(Command command, Action`3 updateProgress)
at Microsoft.Workflow.Deployment.ConfigWizard.ProgressPageViewModel.CreateSBFarm(FarmCreationModel model)
New-SBFarm : Object reference not set to an instance of an object.
At C:\script\создание worckflow фермы sqlsrv.ps1:7 char:1
+ New-SBFarm `
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~
+ CategoryInfo : NotSpecified: (:) [New-SBFarm], NullReferenceException
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.NullReferenceException,Microsoft.ServiceBus.Commands.NewSBFarm
It is completely incomprehensible to me such a negligent attitude of microsoft towards its users.
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Hi Viktor,
not sure if it helps but the error indicates a problem with the Azure Service Fabric installation.
Did you follow these steps:
SharePoint Workflow Manager supports the version 9.0 CU2 (9.0.1048.9590) of Azure Service Fabric and higher versions.
You can install higher versions than that.
If you want to directly upgrade your Azure Service Fabric without uninstallation, note that there are upgrade dependencies.
If Windows Fabric is already installed on your machine, you must uninstall it before installing Azure Service Fabric.
(https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/governance/install-and-configure-workflow-for-sharepoint-server)
If you followed these steps and it still fails I would recommend to open a support case with Microsoft to get this analyzed in more details.
Cheers,
Stefan
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@Vicktor – I have run through a number of scenarios with moving from WFM to SPWFM and new hardware and now almost monthly updates of the Service Fabric versions that I need to mitigate due to STIG requirements and ACAS scans. There was very little out there in terms of how-to’s and I have documented what worked for me. Moving to new hardware and trying to use the WFM/SB dbs was problematic at first. A number of factors are involved. I wound up just creating a new custom farm with new certificates and ran the SP WF proxy. All workflows were there not losing a one. But did lose the history. This will not be acceptable to others.
Moving to SP WFM from WFM and updating the Service Fabric: there are specific steps that should be followed such as Uninstalling old SF, installing new SF, Leave Farm, Remove old WFM folders. Install SP WFM client and Manager, Rejoin farm, run Upgrade WFM, Test.
With updating just the Service Fabric versions I had run through several scenarios as well and what worked well were these steps: 1-Leave Farm, 2-Uninstall current SF, 3-Check to make sure no leftover files under c:\Program files\Microsoft Service Fabric (leaselayr.sys may be in use). 4-Reboot if #3 has files, then remove the folder. 5-Install new SF. 6-Rejoin Farm. 7-Upgrade WFM farm. 8-Test.
I found that if you do not leave the WFM farm prior to uninstalling the Service Fabric, you will run into problems. WFM is connected to the old Service Fabric. Leaving the farm prior to uninstalling and reinstalling the service fabric worked without a hitch.