Dynamics AX 2012 - Workflow not working properly

While doing some customizations, I needed to use the purchase requisition workflow. However after submitting the purchase requisition, the workflow wont proceed and no work items would create.

Batch job and Batch groups

Workflow is dependent on batch groups. Perhaps all tasks appearing under the 'Periodic' heading are. The development environment I was working on had an empty named batch group. But the problem is not with a no name or empty name thing. It is the details the batch group carries, if it carries any :)

A Batch Group represents a Batch Server (AOS Server)

Its all about distributing workload and responsibility, for load balancing. A batch group posses no significance if it has no AOS servers associated to it. See the picture below;

System Administration > Setup > Batch Group

Hence if the workflow activities and tasks generated are being dependant on an empty batch, such activities wont occur / complete.

The Story

In my case, the empty batch group was really empty (rotfl) and I dont know for what reason it was like that. What really happened was that first I went to sys Adm > Inquiries > Batch Jobs. There I tried to tweak with multiple waiting, error status jobs. I came to find that only the With Hold status jobs are modifiable. Once that was known, I started putting the jobs on this status and doing things with them. There I saw no name appearing in the batch. This also raised the question if this empty batch associated has issues with it. Later I went to see no server is associated with the group. I associated the default and only AOS server  on the VM to the group and there you go :) Happy workflowing

Some useful links for your reference are attached below;

Links

• http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc616520.aspx
• http://stackoverflow.com/questions/12173553/how-to-start-the-batch-service-process
• http://blogs.msdn.com/b/axsupport/archive/2013/09/06/troubleshooting-upgrade-and-cu-batch-jobs-stuck-in-a-waiting-status-in-dynamics-ax-2012.aspx
• http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd309586.aspx
• http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg243235.aspx
• http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa548919.aspx
• https://community.dynamics.com/ax/f/33/t/30380.aspx
• http://kurthatlevik.wordpress.com/2013/11/21/turn-your-dynamics-ax-wms-from-wheres-my-stuff-to-an-actual-warehouse-management-system/#