You receive an "A Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator problem prevented connection to the Configuration database" error message when you publish assemblies from BizTalk Server 2004

When you work with a Microsoft BizTalk Server 2004 project on a Microsoft Windows Server 2003-based computer, and you deploy the assemblies to BizTalk Server 2004, you may receive the following error message from Microsoft Visual Studio .NET: Note In this error message, [server] is a placeholder for the computer that is running Microsoft SQL Server and that houses the BizTalk Management database.

The deployment wizard log file may contain the following log entries:

This behavior occurs because Remote Procedure Call (RPC) security requires that the computer that is running SQL Server 2000 and the BizTalk Server 2004 computer exist in the same Active Directory domain. RPC security is used for Data Transaction Coordinator (DTC) authentication between BizTalk 2004 computers.

Warning Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly by using Registry Editor or by using another method. These problems might require that you reinstall the operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that these problems can be solved. Modify the registry at your own risk.

You may also experience this problem after you install Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2) or Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1). To work around this problem, turn off RPC security on the computers that are running Windows Server 2003.

Windows Server 2003

To turn off RPC security on a computer that is running Windows Server 2003 without any service packs installed, set the DWORD value of the TurnOffRpcSecurity registry value to 1. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
2. Locate and then click the following registry subkey:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MSDTC\TurnOffRpcSecurity
   Note If this subkey does not exist, create this subkey.
3. On the Edit menu, click Modify.
4. In the Value data box, type 1, and then click OK.
5. Exit Registry Editor.

Windows Server 2003 SP1 and later service packs

To turn off RPC security on a computer that is running Windows Server 2003 SP1 or a later service pack, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, click Run, type dcomcnfg in the Open box, and then click OK.
2. Expand Component Services, expand Computers, right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.
3. In the My Computer Properties dialog box, click the MSDTC tab, and then click Security Configuration.
4. In the Security Configuration dialog box, click to select the Allow Remote Clients check box. Then click No Authentication Required under Transaction Manager Communications.
5. Click OK, and then click Yes to restart the MS DTC service.
6. After the service has restarted, click OK.
7. Click OK to close the My Computer Properties dialog box.
8. Restart the server.

RPC security is a new MS DTC feature in Windows Server 2003. When you disable RPC security, the MS DTC authentication security level for RPC calls goes back to a security level that is available in Microsoft Windows 2000 Server. For more information about the new MS DTC functionality in Windows 2003 Service Pack 1 and in later service packs, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For more information about BizTalk Server 2004 and SQL Server 2000 in separate domains, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: