FIX: Zombie messages cause high CPU usage on servers that host BizTalk Server 2006

When you receive zombie messages in Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006, you experience the following issues:

• Orchestration instances continuously switch from the Active state to the Dehydrated state.
• The CPU usage of the BizTalk Server 2006 host instance is very high.

Note A zombie message is a message that does not match a subscription at the time of processing.

This issue occurs because of a problem in the XLANG engine in BizTalk Server 2006. When zombie messages are received in BizTalk Server 2006, the XLANG runtime may treat these messages as if they were not received. This behaviour causes the instance to dehydrate. Then, the messages are routed to the orchestration instance again. This causes the instance to rehydrate. However, the messages still cannot be processed. Therefore, the orchestration instance continuously dehydrates and then rehydrates. This behavior causes high CPU usage on the BizTalk Server 2006 instance. Therefore, this issue affects the performance of the computer that hosts BizTalk Server 2006.

After you apply this hotfix, the zombie messages are suspended before the cycle of dehydration and rehydration begins.

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, submit a request to Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site: Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.

Prerequisites

You must have BizTalk Server 2006 installed to apply this hotfix.

Restart requirement

You do not have to restart the computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.

File information

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time item in Control Panel.

All supported versions of x86 based BizTalk Server 2006

All supported versions of x64 based BizTalk Server 2006

Note Because of file dependencies, the most recent hotfix that contains these files may also contain additional files.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

For more information about service instance states in BizTalk Server 2006, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

For more information about zombie messages in BizTalk Server 2006, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

For more information about orchestration dehydration and rehydration, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
For more information about software update terminology, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, about the performance or reliability of these products.