Workflow Services Not Running or Starting in Oracle E-Business Suite R12 (Target=1, Actual=0) – Complete Fix
In Oracle E-Business Suite R12, Oracle Workflow Services may sometimes fail to start from the frontend (System Administrator responsibility)
or from the Concurrent > Manager > Administer form. In this scenario, Workflow service components remain stuck with:
This post provides a clean, production-friendly fix to bring the Workflow services back online, along with the MOS-based advanced recovery
for the common Service Component Container error.
Affected Workflow Components (Service Managers)
- Workflow Agent Listener Service –
WFALSNRSVC
- Workflow Mailer Service –
WFMLRSVC
- Workflow Document Web Services Service –
WFWSSVC
How to Confirm the Service Short Names (SQL)
You can confirm the concurrent queue short names using the following queries:
Workflow Agent Listener Service
SELECT concurrent_queue_name
FROM apps.fnd_concurrent_queues_tl
WHERE user_concurrent_queue_name = 'Workflow Agent Listener Service';
Workflow Mailer Service
SELECT concurrent_queue_name
FROM apps.fnd_concurrent_queues_tl
WHERE user_concurrent_queue_name = 'Workflow Mailer Service';
Workflow Document Web Services Service
SELECT concurrent_queue_name
FROM apps.fnd_concurrent_queues_tl
WHERE user_concurrent_queue_name = 'Workflow Document Web Services Service';
Solution (Primary Fix) – Reset Workflow Service Manager Definitions
⚠️ Important:
Run the below updates carefully (preferably during a controlled window). Take a backup / snapshot before changes in Production.
Execute as APPS.
Step 1 – Set process values to zero
UPDATE fnd_concurrent_queues
SET running_processes = 0,
max_processes = 0
WHERE concurrent_queue_name IN ('WFWSSVC','WFALSNRSVC','WFMLRSVC');
Step 2 – Reset invalid control codes (if applicable)
UPDATE fnd_concurrent_queues
SET control_code = NULL
WHERE concurrent_queue_name IN ('WFWSSVC','WFALSNRSVC','WFMLRSVC')
AND control_code NOT IN ('E','R','X')
AND control_code IS NOT NULL;
Step 3 – Clear target node (remove node binding)
UPDATE fnd_concurrent_queues
SET target_node = NULL
WHERE concurrent_queue_name IN ('WFWSSVC','WFALSNRSVC','WFMLRSVC');
Step 4 – Commit
COMMIT;
What Happens Next?
After the above reset, wait a few minutes. The Internal Concurrent Manager (ICM) typically brings the services up automatically.
Verification – Confirm Workflow Service Managers Are Up
SELECT concurrent_queue_name,
control_code,
running_processes,
max_processes
FROM fnd_concurrent_queues
WHERE concurrent_queue_name IN ('WFALSNRSVC','WFMLRSVC','WFWSSVC');
Expected state:
CONTROL_CODE should typically be CRUNNING_PROCESSES should be 1MAX_PROCESSES should be 1 (or as configured)
Common Error Seen (When Services Still Do Not Start)
In some cases, the services still fail with the following error:
ERROR:[SVC-GSM-WFALSNRSVC-9700 : oracle.apps.fnd.cp.gsc.SvcComponentContainer.startBusinessEventListener()]:
BES system could not establish connection to the control queue after 180 seconds
oracle.apps.fnd.cp.gsc.SvcComponentContainerException:
Could not start Service Component Container
This points to an issue with the Business Event System (BES) control queue / container configuration.
Advanced Fix (MOS) – Rebuild Workflow Control Queue / Container
🚨 MOS-Based Fix:
Use this only when the primary fix does not resolve the issue and the error shows
SvcComponentContainerException.
Refer to Oracle Support Document:
Starting Workflow Services Fails With Error oracle.apps.fnd.cp.gsc.SvcComponentContainerException Could not start Service Component Container
Doc ID 1663093.1
As per the document, run the following script to rebuild the Workflow control queue/container configuration:
Run as APPS user:
sqlplus apps/xxxxxxx @$FND_TOP/patch/115/sql/wfctqrec.sql APPLSYS xxxx
Replace:
- xxxxxxx → APPS password
- xxxx → APPLSYS password
Important Notes
- Ensure Workflow Services are stopped before running the script.
- Take a database backup / snapshot before executing in Production.
- After script execution, bounce Concurrent Managers (or at least ICM).
- Wait a few minutes and recheck the service status.
Post-Fix Verification
SELECT concurrent_queue_name,
control_code,
running_processes,
max_processes
FROM fnd_concurrent_queues
WHERE concurrent_queue_name IN ('WFALSNRSVC','WFMLRSVC','WFWSSVC');
Once the Workflow services are healthy, you should see the managers running and the frontend should reflect:
Root Cause (Why This Happens)
- Corrupt / stale Service Component Container configuration
- Invalid node binding (
TARGET_NODE) after cloning or node changes
- Improper shutdown causing inconsistent queue state
- BES control queue connection timeouts
Conclusion
Workflow services stuck at Target=1 / Actual=0 can be fixed safely by resetting the service manager definitions
in FND_CONCURRENT_QUEUES. If the environment throws the Service Component Container exception, the MOS script
(wfctqrec.sql) provides the advanced recovery to rebuild the container/control queue configuration.
— Punit Kumar
Oracle EBS Techno Functional Consultant
Tags
Oracle EBS, R12, Workflow Mailer, WFALSNRSVC, WFMLRSVC, WFWSSVC, Concurrent Manager, ICM, BES, Service Component Container, wfctqrec.sql, Doc ID 1663093.1
