Vista Client setup of MSMQ using Server 2003

[devpete]

Our company is moving from XP to Vista in the near future and we rely
heavily on MSMQ. During testing of our legacy apps. on Vista,
everything is working well except MSMQ. I'm a developer so excuse my
lack of knowledge on the networking side, but as I understand it, we
have a server 2003 box which is our main Domain Controller and which
also hosts our MSMQ queues. We recently added a new domain controller
which is running server 2008. Uninstalling and re-installing MSMQ on
the XP client machines works just fine, but for whatever reason the
Vista clients install MSMQ fine but it thinks MSMQ is working in
WorkGroup mode - which it is not. Comparing the registry between XP
and Vista clients I notice an extra key in ....HKLM/Software/Microsoft/
MSMQ/Parameters...which is named Workgroup and has a value of Hex 1.
Trying to remotely manage MSMQ does not allow me to see the public
queues (Operation not supported in Workgroup mode), but deleting the
Workgroup registry key allows me to but causes other Active Directory
security problems.

Any ideas on how to proceed in a mixed Domain of server 2003 and
server 2008.

We can't turn on MSMQ on the 2008 box yet because of business raesons
but will do so in the future.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Pete

[Frank Boyne]

Post by devpete
Uninstalling and re-installing MSMQ on
the XP client machines works just fine, but for whatever reason the
Vista clients install MSMQ fine but it thinks MSMQ is working in
WorkGroup mode - which it is not.

The only things that should affect your installation are:1) Is the MSMQ
installed to be AD capable? 2) Does the Vista system belong to a domain?
and 3) Is there a registry setting forcing Workgroup mode?

On the Vista system, go to Control Panel | Programs and Features | "Turn
Windows features on or off", then expand Microsoft Message Queue (MSMQ)
Server | Microsoft Message Queue (MSMQ) Server Core.

Look for an option named "MSMQ Active Directory Domain Services
Integration". If that option is checked, your MSMQ is installed to be
AD capable, if the option is not checked then MSMQ on that system can
only run in Workgroup mode. If the option is not even listed under
Server Core then most likely your Vista system does not belong to a
domain (so setup isn;t even offering you the choice).

If MSMQ is installed as being AD capable, and is a member of a domain,
check for the registry key
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MSMQ\Parameters\Setup\AlwaysWithoutDS
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms707080(VS.85).aspx

[devpete]

Thanks for the help Frank.

MSMQ is installed to be AD capable. The MSMQ Active Directory Domain
Services
Integration option is selected before Install and verified to be still
selected after Install
and reboot.

There is no AlwaysWithoutDS key in the registry.

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MSMQ\Parameters\Workgroup ends up with a value
of 1
after install.

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MSMQ\Setup\msmq_ADIntegrated has a value of 1.

This started to be a problem after the 2008 server was brought online.

Thanks,
Pete

Post by Frank Boyne

Post by devpete
Uninstalling and re-installing MSMQ on
the XP client machines works just fine, but for whatever reason the
Vista clients install MSMQ fine but it thinks MSMQ is working in
WorkGroup mode - which it is not.

The only things that should affect your installation are:1) Is the MSMQ
installed to be AD capable? 2) Does the Vista system belong to a domain?
and 3) Is there a registry setting forcing Workgroup mode?
On the Vista system, go to Control Panel | Programs and Features | "Turn
Windows features on or off", then expand Microsoft Message Queue (MSMQ)
Server | Microsoft Message Queue (MSMQ) Server Core.
Look for an option named "MSMQ Active Directory Domain Services
Integration". If that option is checked, your MSMQ is installed to be
AD capable, if the option is not checked then MSMQ on that system can
only run in Workgroup mode. If the option is not even listed under
Server Core then most likely your Vista system does not belong to a
domain (so setup isn;t even offering you the choice).
If MSMQ is installed as being AD capable, and is a member of a domain,
check for the registry key
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MSMQ\Parameters\Setup\AlwaysWithoutDS
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms707080(VS.85).aspx

[John Breakwell (MSFT)]

Hi Pete

If you are reinstalling Vista then you may need to ensure the corresponding
MSMQ object is manually deleted from Active Directory.

935498 A Message Queuing 4.0-based server runs in Workgroup mode after you
install the Message Queuing Active Directory Domain Services Integration
feature
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;935498
http://blogs.msdn.com/johnbreakwell/archive/2007/05/15/watch-out-when-re-installing-msmq-4-0-in-a-domain.aspx

Post by devpete
We can't turn on MSMQ on the 2008 box yet because of business raesons
but will do so in the future.

You won't need to install MSMQ on the Windows Server 2008 box unless you
plan to host queues on it.
A domain controller only needs to have MSMQ installed on it if the clients
are Windows 2000 - which they are no in your case.

Post by devpete
This started to be a problem after the 2008 server was brought online.

So does the problem persist when you take the server off-line?

Post by devpete
Trying to remotely manage MSMQ does not allow me to see the
public queues (Operation not supported in Workgroup mode),
but deleting the Workgroup registry key allows me to but causes
other Active Directory security problems.

What are the security problems you mention?

Cheers
John Breakwell (MSFT)

[devpete]

Post by John Breakwell (MSFT)
Hi Pete
If you are reinstalling Vista then you may need to ensure the corresponding
MSMQ object is manually deleted from Active Directory.
935498 A Message Queuing 4.0-based server runs in Workgroup mode after you
install the Message Queuing Active Directory Domain Services Integration
featurehttp://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;935498http://blogs.msdn.com/johnbreakwell/archive/2007/05/15/watch-out-when...

Post by devpete
We can't turn on MSMQ on the 2008 box yet because of business raesons
but will do so in the future.

You won't need to install MSMQ on the Windows Server 2008 box unless you
plan to host queues on it.
A domain controller only needs to have MSMQ installed on it if the clients
are Windows 2000 - which they are no in your case.

Post by devpete
This started to be a problem after the 2008 server was brought online.

So does the problem persist when you take the server off-line?

Post by devpete
Trying to remotely manage MSMQ does not allow me to see the
public queues (Operation not supported in Workgroup mode),
but deleting the Workgroup registry key allows me to but causes
other Active Directory security problems.

What are the security problems you mention?
Cheers
John Breakwell (MSFT)

John,

Manually deleting the MSMQ object from AD and re-installing does the
trick. Thanks for the help.

Pete