Question
American Express
GB
Last activity: 27 Nov 2019 10:23 EST
Pega Robot Runtime not starting on Windows 2016 server
We have installed the Robot Runtime (v19.1) on a Windows 2016 server. When we try to start the Runtime we see the splash screen then it closes. In the Windows Event viewer we are seeing the following error:
"Activation of app Microsoft.Windows.Cortana_cw5n1h2txyewy!CortanaUI failed with error: This app can't be activated by the Built-in Administrator. See the Microsoft-Windows-TWinUI/Operational log for additional information."
We cannot locate the further log as suggested by the error message.
We have set the AllowRunWithNoPackage setting to 'true' in the RuntimeConfig file.
Anyone else seeing this issue?
Accepted Solution
American Express
GB
We resolved this by launching the Robot Runtime Engine directly (C:\Program Files (x86)\Pegasystems\Pega Robot Runtime\OpenSpan.Runtime). By default, the 19.1 Pega Robotic Automation Installer created a shortcut to "C:\Program Files (x86)\Pegasystems\Pega Synchronization Engine\Pega.Loader.exe" -p Runtime -e OpenSpan.Runtime.exe". Windows Server 2016 didn't like this and threw the error seen above.
Pegasystems Inc.
US
There aren't likely many users running Pega Robotics Runtime on a server operating system, so you might not get many responses. Since Runtime is designed to automate processes that users perform, server operating systems just aren't used by the average worker in common practice.
I did a Google search for this error and it seems to be a common server issue after a fresh install. This seems like it might not be related to Runtime specifically, but any app.
If your server admins cannot help, I would suggest that you open a support request as someone from support would likely need to investigate on your server to see what the issue is. It is listed in the supported operating systems of the latest versions (19.1 and 8.0 SP1).
Windows Server 2016 (64-bit, versions 1607, 1709, 1803, 1809, and 1903)
If you do open an SR, please record the number on this post so that the resolution can be added back to the community.
American Express
GB
Regarding your statement about there aren't many users using Pega Robotics Runtime on a Windows server, maybe we're targetting the wrong implementation? We are trying to implement unattended robots which receive work via RPA from our PRPC server. Based on the deployment guide, we understand that the Windows server hosting the unattended robots need to have the Runtime installed. Is this correct? Are there alternatives for RPA?
We've also seen the article you referenced but that didn't fix the issue. We're also in contact with our sys admins.
Pegasystems Inc.
US
Generally, RPA is running processes that replicate what user's are doing. As such, they would use the same software as user's do. Most implementations would be done using virtual machines running the same operating system as the user's whose processes you are automating. This is because your applications that you are automating are likely not be tested running on a server operating system (in addition to the extra expense, etc...). So were you to automate an application on a server OS and that application has problems, you would need to perform extra testing to ensure that your applications function the same way on a server OS as they do on the current OS that user's work with them on. An RPA "bot" is best thought of like an invisible employee that requires the same hardware and software as a visible one.
You are correct in that where you decide to run your automation(s) from, that will ultimately require Runtime to be installed.
Accepted Solution
American Express
GB
We resolved this by launching the Robot Runtime Engine directly (C:\Program Files (x86)\Pegasystems\Pega Robot Runtime\OpenSpan.Runtime). By default, the 19.1 Pega Robotic Automation Installer created a shortcut to "C:\Program Files (x86)\Pegasystems\Pega Synchronization Engine\Pega.Loader.exe" -p Runtime -e OpenSpan.Runtime.exe". Windows Server 2016 didn't like this and threw the error seen above.