This topic answers some frequently asked questions about 64-bit support for Microsoft BizTalk Server.
All versions of BizTalk Server 2009 support 32-bit execution on Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 x64 (including R2) and Windows XP Professional x64 by using WOW64. Additionally, BizTalk Server 2009 Enterprise, Developer, Branch, and Evaluation Editions support native 64-bit execution on Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 x64 (including R2), and Windows XP Professional x64 by installing both 32-bit and 64-bit executables and providing configuration options to use either 32-bit or 64-bit modes.
No. 64-bit support is included at no extra charge.
For the BizTalk runtime, no. For BizTalk databases, yes.
BizTalk Server 2009 is not supported on Windows running on Itanium-based 64-bit CPUs. BizTalk Server requires CPU hardware that supports AMD64 or EM64T. However, BizTalk Server does support running with an Itanium-based SQL Server 2005 or SQL Server 2008 deployment. Thus, all BizTalk Server databases are supported on Itanium 64-bit CPUs.
BizTalk Server executables are hosted inside several different server runtimes. The following table lists which BizTalk Server processes run in 64-bit mode.
HTTP-based adapters (IIS)
Yes
Partial
BizTalk Host instances
Enterprise SSO
BAM portal (IIS)
No
SQL Server
BizTalk Server components such as the HTTP, and SOAP adapters are hosted and executed inside Internet Information Services (IIS). All adapters are supported in 32-bit IIS mode. Some adapters support running in 64-bit IIS mode. For a complete list of 64-bit adapters, see the list of adapters later in this topic.
A BizTalk Host is a logical group of servers, each one called a host instance. Each host instance is deployed as an NT service based on BTSNTSvc.exe. Orchestrations and in-process adapters are loaded and executed in host instances. Host instances can be configured to run in either 32-bit or 64-bit mode by using the 32-bit only check box option in the Host Properties dialog box in the BizTalk Server Administration console.
Microsoft Enterprise Single Sign-On (SSO) is run in a dedicated NT service (ENTSSO.exe). It is native 32-bit on 32-bit Windows and native 64-bit on 64-bit Windows.
Business Activity Monitoring (BAM) portal components must run in IIS using 32-bit ASP.NET 3.5. BAM Portal will run on 64-bit hardware in WOW mode. For information about running the BAM portal in 64-bit mode, see "Running the BAM portal in a 64-bit environment" in Customizing the BAM Portal Configuration.
BizTalk Server communicates to Microsoft SQL Server over native transport protocols that are interoperable between 32-bit and 64-bit versions of SQL Server. Therefore, 32-bit and 64-bit BizTalk Server executables can communicate with either 32-bit or 64-bit versions of SQL Server. All BizTalk Server stored procedures are supported in either 32-bit or 64-bit SQL Server.
Microsoft Visual Studio
BizTalk Server designer executables are hosted inside the 32-bit Visual Studio IDE. Visual Studio supports development of 64-bit projects using the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5, which can be deployed into BizTalk Server 2009.
Microsoft Management Console (MMC)
The BizTalk Server Administration console runs only as a 32-bit Microsoft Management Console (MMC) application, even on 64-bit Windows. Enterprise SSO supports both 32-bit and 64-bit MMC.
Internet Explorer
The BAM client requires 32-bit Internet Explorer to be installed and used on 64-bit Windows.
Assign the orchestration to run in a host instance that has the 32-bit only property not selected. The host instance must be running on a Windows x64 machine.
Yes. Using Visual Studio and the .NET Framework, a BizTalk Server developer can create assemblies that support 64-bit execution. These can be deployed with orchestrations and run in host instances configured for native 64-bit execution.
Yes. If the assembly was compiled with the .NET Framework 2.0 and the AnyCPU flag, a single DLL will JIT-compile properly in either 32-bit or 64-bit CLRs.
Yes. An administrator can create an MSI package file from a BizTalk Server application. The MSI file can contain both 32-bit and 64-bit dlls and exes that were added to the BizTalk application. On 32-bit Windows, only the 32-bit dlls and exes will be installed. On Windows x64, both 32-bit and 64-bit dlls and exes will be installed.
Windows x64 provides the ability to run both 32-bit and 64-bit executables on the same computer. 32-bit executables use the WOW64 service to emulate a 32-bit runtime environment.
Yes. On Windows x64, 32-bit BTSNTSVC and IIS processes are run under WOW64 and may utilize the full 4GB of virtual memory. This is an improvement over the default 2GB of addressable virtual memory on 32-bit Windows.
You can express the memory throttling threshold in percent (%) available, or in an absolute value.
By default, all adapters can run in 32-bit mode on 32-bit Windows and on WOW64 on 64-bit Windows. The following adapters can run in native 64-bit mode (in either IIS or BTSNTSVC as the host process):
No. BizTalk Server persists runtime components using formats that are independent of 32-bit or 64-bit runtimes. This includes orchestrations, messages, and ports. This persistence model enables an administrator to switch the host configuration between 32-bit and 64-bit without creating incompatibilities in BizTalk Server data.
All supported languages are supported on both 32-bit and 64-bit runtimes.
The configuration wizard is a 32-bit process; therefore it requires certain components which allow it to communicate with 64-bit SQL Server. You must install the following SQL Server client components to enable configuration of BAM tools:
The MQSeries adapter is supported in both 32-bit and 64-bit processes. The adapter has a MQSeries Agent that runs on IBM WebSphere MQ Server on Windows. With MQ Fix Pack 6.0.2.1 the agent is supported as a 32-bit process running under WOW64.--This statement seems to have been withdrawn. It is not supported
This means MQSeries adapter should NOT be hosted on 64-bit host instance.
Yes. On Windows x64, 64-bit BTSNTSVC and IIS processes may utilize the full 16 terabytes of virtual memory.
The above content could be usefully updated with respect to the launch of SQL Server 2008.