Workflow Services Not Starting in Oracle E-Business Suite R12 – BES Control Queue Fix

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:

• Target = 1
• Actual = 0

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.

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Affected Workflow Components (Service Managers)

• Workflow Agent Listener Service – WFALSNRSVC
• Workflow Mailer Service – WFMLRSVC
• Workflow Document Web Services Service – WFWSSVC

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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';

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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;

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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 C
• RUNNING_PROCESSES should be 1
• MAX_PROCESSES should be 1 (or as configured)

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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.

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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.

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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:

• Target = 1
• Actual = 1

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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

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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

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Tags

Oracle EBS, R12, Workflow Mailer, WFALSNRSVC, WFMLRSVC, WFWSSVC, Concurrent Manager, ICM, BES, Service Component Container, wfctqrec.sql, Doc ID 1663093.1