Azure DevOps pipeline not running xUnit tests

Problem:
Azure DevOps pipeline was not executing XUnit tests

Solution:
The pipeline was running on a machine where no versions of Microsoft Visual Studio were installed.To solve the issue, we had to:

1. add a VisualStudioTestPlatformInstaller task to the pipeline
2. add the xUnit.runner.VisualStudio nuget package reference to our unit test project.

[BizTalk] Regsvcs failed for assembly MQS.dll while installing BizTalk 2016 feature packs or cumulative updates

Problem:
You may encounter the following error message while installing BizTalk 2016 feature packs or cumulative updates.

« Error 5003.Regsvcs failed for assembly C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft BizTalk Server 2016\Microsoft.BizTalk.Adapter.MQS.dll. Return code -2146234013 »

Cause:

Unknown. A case has been opened at Microsoft for this issue.

Solution:

We didn't really find a solution to this problem. We have been able to avoid the issue by:

1. first performing a minimal installation and configuration of BizTalk 2016 (BAM was not installed)

2. we then installed the Feature Pack 2 of BizTalk

3. Finally, BAM and its prequirements were installed and configured

Normally, there is no link between BAM and the MQS adapter. But in reality, when performing the installation in the order mentioned above, we were able to sucessfully install the BizTalk feature pack.

[BizTalk] "Length.Get" error while using custom pipeline on MQSC port

Problem:
As from BizTalk 2016, the MQSC adapter can use the native Microsoft MQ client to connect to IBM WebSphere queues. This avoids the need to install the IBM MQ client provided by IBM.



However, if you use a custom pipeline on your MQSC adapter using the native Microsoft MQ Client, you may/will encounter the following error message:

"The adapter "MQSC" raised an error message. Details "Length.get".

Cause :

This is a known bug in BizTalk 2016 upto feature pack 2 CU4. The use of custom pipelines has unfortunately not been implemented when using the native Microsoft client. A case has been opened with Microsoft.

Solution:

Hopefully, Microsoft will release a fix for this in the near future. In the meantime, install and use the IBM MQ Client if you need to use the MQSC adapter.