delayactivity not workfing

Question

I am trying to create a simple sequential workflow using delayactivity. before that i was using hard coded while loop as per : Custom workflow terminates automatically after some time

but now still i am facing issues with delayactivity. if i set it to say 5 minutes , after 5 minutes it still shows in progress . and after around 7 or 8 minutes it breaks saying 'error occured'. the logs are:

01/05/2016 14:55:26.94  OWSTIMER.EXE (0x1D7C)                       0x1EA0  SharePoint Foundation           Legacy Workflow Infrastructure  88xr    Unexpected  WinWF Internal Error, terminating workflow Id# 3b4df44c-371d-40ee-887e-a2a832e0b3ea a139529d-0046-30d1-cd87-54e48628d436
01/05/2016 14:55:26.94  OWSTIMER.EXE (0x1D7C)                       0x1EA0  SharePoint Foundation           Legacy Workflow Infrastructure  98d4    Unexpected  System.TypeInitializationException: The type initializer for 'ADCouncil.Core.ADCouncilServiceProvider' threw an exception. ---> System.Exception: Failed to Open ADCouncil configuration section. nsure that your configuration is properly set.     at ADCouncil.Core.ADCouncilServiceProvider.LoadConfig()     at ADCouncil.Core.ADCouncilServiceProvider..ctor()     at ADCouncil.Core.ADCouncilServiceProvider..cctor()     --- End of inner exception stack trace ---     at ITPCWorkflow.ITPCWorkflow.ITPCWorkflow.codeActivity2_ExecuteCode(Object sender, EventArgs e)     at System.Workflow.ComponentModel.Activity.RaiseEvent(DependencyProperty dependencyEvent, Object sender, EventArgs e)     at System.Workflow.Activities.CodeActivity.Execute(ActivityExecutionContext executionContext)     at System.Workflo... a139529d-0046-30d1-cd87-54e48628d436
01/05/2016 14:55:26.94* OWSTIMER.EXE (0x1D7C)                       0x1EA0  SharePoint Foundation           Legacy Workflow Infrastructure  98d4    Unexpected  ...w.ComponentModel.ActivityExecutor`1.Execute(T activity, ActivityExecutionContext executionContext)     at System.Workflow.ComponentModel.ActivityExecutorOperation.Run(IWorkflowCoreRuntime workflowCoreRuntime)     at System.Workflow.Runtime.Scheduler.Run()  a139529d-0046-30d1-cd87-54e48628d436
01

I followed some other blogs for the similar issue , i did change the workflow-service timeout as per these blogs : http://the-simple-programmer.blogspot.ae/2012/10/sharepoint-workflow-delay-activity.html https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc424946(v=office.12).aspx

it didn't workout . then I followed other blogs and set the cache.ini to 1 removing all of the xml files . still didn't work.

I am using visual studio 2013, workflow manager is installed , 1 front end development server. i am setting the 'delayactivity' time from properties window this way:'00:05:00'.

its just a 3 stage workflow for testing purpose . first activity sends an email to all members , then it should wait for 5 minutes and send another email after 5 minutes .

I am sure its OWSTIMER process issue . but not able to figure out . please suggest something . thanks

Answer 1

In your codeActivity2, you probably create an instance of class ADCouncilServiceProvider. According to my understanding, this class needs some special configuration in the .config file of the process running the code. In case of a WF, the hosting process may be:

• W3WP: in that case, the config file is the famous web.config file.
• OWSTIMER.EXE (aka SharePoint Timer service): OWSTIMER hosts the code after a Delay activity for example. In that case, the config file is C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\web server extensions\15\BIN\OWSTIMER.EXE.CONFIG as I stated in Custom workflow terminates automatically after some time. Note: you need to restart the SharePoint Timer service after modifiying that OWSTIMER.EXE.CONFIG file.

[EDIT]
To address your comment about the big picture of your WF:

You have to use a state-machine WF. Maybe with only one main state.

In this main state, at the Init phase, you send emails and create the tasks (I don't see how your x members do approve without tasks ; a task is a communication mean from the users to SharePoint ; you can use other means, but the task is the SharePoint built-in one).

In the Event phase of the state, you listen for two events:

• first the Delay. Once the delay has expired: email to who you want, and transition to the final state.
• The other event listens to task modifications: each time a user approves, you check whether all users have approved or not. If they've all approved, email to who you want and transition to final state.