Chapter 19. Visio Services Issues

This chapter explains how to deal with some of the known challenges that plague Visio Graphics Services. The issues discussed in this chapter (including their various symptoms) and their resolutions derive from TechNet (source: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee513129.aspx).

Visio Graphics Service Data Refresh Failed (Event ID 8037, 8038, 8062, 8063)

Microsoft Visio diagrams can be connected to an external data source, such as Excel Service. This error usually occurs when the data schema in a file changes. Users might observe the following errors in the event log:

• Event ID: 8037 Description: Invalid data type found in Published File cache for file <FileName> Exception : <ExceptionCode>.

• Event ID: 8038 Description: Invalid data type found in Rendered File cache for file <FileName> Exception : <ExceptionCode>.

• Event ID: 8063 Description: Invalid data type found in ODC cache for file %1.

• Event ID: 8062 Description: Primary key column deleted.

According to Microsoft, the following might cause errors:

• External data source, such as a Microsoft Excel workbook no longer exists or is inaccessible.

• The primary key is changed, and Visio Graphics Service cannot update the data in the Visio diagram.

• Data provider is not valid or trusted.

Fixing these issues can help you resolve this error. Make sure your data providers are trusted, your primary keys are set up correctly, and both source and drawing are hosted on the same SharePoint site.

Visio Configuration Database Not Found (Event ID 8040)

Visio Graphics Service stores its application configuration settings in the configuration-a12-n database. It is very important that service has access to this database at all times to function properly. Users will observe the following symptoms if this issue occurs:

• Visio Diagrams will not render.

• Event ID: 8040 will appear in the event log. The description “Can’t find configuration manager” will display.

According to Microsoft, this issue might be caused by the following:

• The configuration database is not accessible.

• The configuration database is not responding or responding extremely slowly due to heavy network activity.

Microsoft recommends that to resolve this issue you confirm that the SQL Server configuration database is functioning correctly. You can do so as follows:

1. On the SharePoint Central Administration website, in the System Settings section, click Manage Servers in This Farm.
2. In the Farm Information section, note the configuration database server name and the version.
3. Start SQL Server Management Studio and connect to the same configuration SQL database server you noted in step 2.
4. If you can’t connect to the database server then run the SharePoint Products and Technologies Configuration Wizard to fix this issue.

If this resolution does not work, identify whether the SQL Server network connection has any issues. To confirm connectivity, follow these steps:

1. On the Central Administration page, in the System Settings section of the reading pane, click Manage Servers in This Farm.
2. In the Farm Information section, note the configuration database server name.
3. Open a command prompt window and type ping <server name>. Confirm if you get the response back from the server.

   If you do not receive a reply back from the server then it indicates a problem with the network connection or another problem that prevents a response from the server.

4. Log on to the server and troubleshoot the connectivity issue.

Visio Graphics Service Untrusted Data Provider Request (Event ID 8041)

This error occurs when the data provider your drawing is using is not on the list of trusted data providers. Users might see the following symptoms when this issue happens:

• Data is not refreshing.

• Event ID: 8041 appears in the event log with a “Trusted data provider error. <error name>” description.

According to Microsoft, this issue might happen because the data provider is not registered as a trusted data provider. Follow the guidelines in Chapter 11, “Visio Graphics Service Configuration,” to add your data source to a trusted data provider list.

Visio Graphics Service Failed to Generate Diagram (Event ID 8060, 8042, 8043)

This error occurs when the service is unable to generate the diagram. Users might observe the following symptom because of this issue:

• Event ID: 8060, Event ID: 8042, and Event ID: 8043 will appear in the event log.

According to Microsoft, the following could be the reasons:

• If this error appears together with another error, the diagram might fail to render because of the causes specified in the corresponding error that is triggered.

• If only this error is appearing in the log, Visio Graphics Service in SharePoint might have failed to generate a diagram for an unknown reason.

• Another reason could be because Visio Graphics Service is configured incorrectly.

You need to review all three of these potential reasons to identify what is really causing this issue.

Visio Proxy Initialization Failed (Event ID 8044)

This error appears in the log if Proxy is not configured correctly. The Visio Graphics Service application and its corresponding web parts use a proxy to connect to the back-end service. Users might observe following symptoms:

• Diagrams will not render.

• Event ID: 8044 will appear in the event log with an “Unable to initialize Visio service proxy” description.

Microsoft suggests the following as possible causes:

• The application proxy for the Visio Graphics Service is not running or is incorrectly configured.

To resolve this issue, we need to verify whether the Visio Graphics Service application proxy is configured correctly. To do so, follow these steps:

1. On the SharePoint Central Administration page, click Manage Service Applications.
2. Verify that a service application proxy is associated with each of your Visio Graphics Service application. If a service application has a proxy configured then it should appear in the next line with increased indent and “Proxy” word should be used in the description provided in the Type column on Manage Service Application page.

If no service application proxy corresponds to the Visio Graphics Service application that fails, create a new one by using Windows PowerShell 2.0. To create a new one, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, All Programs, Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Products, SharePoint Management Shell.
2. Create a new Visio Graphics Service application proxy by entering the Windows PowerShell cmdlet New-SPVisioServiceApplicationProxy at the command prompt in the SharePoint Management Shell.

Create a new service application if the preceding steps don’t resolve your issue. To create a new service application, follow these steps:

1. On the Central Administration page, click Manage Service Applications.
2. In the Name column, select the Visio Graphics Service application proxy that is failing and then on the ribbon click Delete.
3. Select the parent Visio Graphics Service application of the application proxy that you deleted and then on the ribbon click Delete.
4. Create a new Visio Graphics Service application. On the Service Applications tab of the ribbon, click New, Visio Graphics Service. Make sure that the Create Service Application Proxy check box is selected.
5. In a command prompt window, use the command ping <serverAddress> to verify the connectivity.

Visio Application Proxy Has Invalid Endpoint (Event ID 8049)

The application for Visio Graphics Service uses a proxy to set up communication between the front-end and back-end service. For Visio Graphics Service to function properly, the front-end service must be connected to the application server that is returned by the application proxy. Users might observe the following symptoms:

• The Visio Graphics Service fails to render diagrams.

• Event ID: 8049 appears in the event log with an “Application proxy invalid endpoint for <descriptive text>” description.

Microsoft suggests that the following might be the cause:

• The specified SharePoint Server application server is inaccessible.

• The specified application server is responding slowly because of heavy network activity or load on the specific server.

To resolve this issue, we first need to check error logs. To review the log, follow these steps:

1. Open the Windows Event Viewer.
2. Search for Event ID 8049 in the Windows Application Event log.
3. In the event description, note the application server that is failing.

Verify whether the application server connection is working correctly as follows:

1. From the failing application server, open the SharePoint Central Administration website.
2. If you cannot access the Central Administration site from the failing server, check that the network settings are correct and that the server has appropriate permissions to join the SharePoint farm.

Verify whether the Visio Graphics Service is running on the failing server as follows:

1. On the Central Administration page, click Manage Servers in This Farm.
2. Verify that the Visio Graphics Service runs on the failing application server.
3. If there is a service application proxy for the failing service application, create a new service application.

One possible resolution is to just restart the Visio Graphics Service. You can do that as follows:

1. On the Central Administration page, click Manage Servers in This Farm.
2. In the Server column, click the name of the failing application server. The Services on Server page opens.
3. In the Service column, locate Visio Graphics Service, click Stop and then click Start.

You might have to create a new Visio Graphics Service application if restart does not resolve your issue. To do so, follow these steps:

1. On the Central Administration page, click Manage Service Applications.
2. In the Type column, click the name of the Visio Graphics Service application that has the failing service instance.
3. On the ribbon, click Delete.
4. In the Delete Service Application dialog box, click OK.
5. Create a new Visio Graphics Service application.

Visio Graphics Service Data Provider Not Found (Event ID 8050)

Visio web drawings connect to external data sources, such as Excel Services. It is possible that users might observe the following symptoms when trying to connect to an external data source:

• Refresh data does not work.

• Event ID: 8050 appears in the event log with a “Data provider connection failed with connection string <descriptive text>” description.

According to Microsoft this might happen because of Visio Graphics Service being unable to connect to a data provider. Make sure the data provider is in the trusted data provider list.

Visio Graphics Service File Loading Error (Event ID 8051, 8061)

Visio web drawings can be uploaded to a document library and then embedded in a SharePoint page by using the Visio Web Access web part. This error usually occurs when the web part is unable to access the file. Users might observe following symptoms:

• The file might not load.

• Event ID: 8061 appears in the event log with a “File not found at this location: <file location>” description.

• Event ID: 8051 appears in the event log with an “Unable to parse file at location: <file location>” description.

Microsoft identifies the following as possible causes:

• A Visio web access web part references a file that no longer exists or is invalid.

• A corrupted Visio web diagram.

• An invalid Visio web drawing.

Summary

It is very important to read through the directions available at Microsoft website for installing SharePoint 2010 with Visio Graphics Service. Sometimes we miss small configuration settings and then end up with an unstable environment. Visio Graphics Service has many components that need to be configured properly to ensure proper functionality. This chapter covered various behaviors and messages that are displayed to the developer or end user if Visio Graphics Services have not been properly configured.

Best Practices

The following are best practices from this chapter:

• Ensure that the Visio Graphics Service is set up in conjunction with the Secure Store Service before starting development. Unattended Service Account will only work when Secure Store Service Application is created. Unattended Service Account helps with refreshing data from an external data source.

• To avoid all possible configuration issues, pay careful attention to the Visio configuration chapter (Chapter 11). Do not delete any web drawing from your SharePoint site until you are sure that web drawing is not configured to be accessed from a Visio Web Access web part.

• Make sure the data provider you are using in your web drawing is listed in a trusted data provider list.

• Monitor network activities to make sure there are no connectivity issues between all servers used to configure your SharePoint farm.