The error

This error occurred during the import of one of the binding files:

“Failed to create ‘WCF-Custom’ Transport Component.”

The cause

It was the first time we tried to remotely import a BizTalk binding file that contained the WCF-Custom adapter.

The troubleshooting

I used the Microsoft.BizTalk.Deployment.DeployerComponent to import the bindings.  I created a workaround for the issue, by executing BTSTASK.exe remotely via PSEXEC.exe.  This worked fine, but then I’ve got the same error while starting receive locations and send ports, that were configured with the WCF-Custom adapter.  As I didn’t have a good command line alternative for this functionality, the workaround was useless.

Afterwards, I’ve tried to install some extra BizTalk software on the TFS Build Server. And yes, this was the way to go!

The solution

The Windows Communication Foundation Adapter runtime should also be installed on the local machine (in our case TFS Build Server).  This is not documented somewhere and it’s not the behavior you would expect.  The BizTalk deployment libraries work fine for remote deployment, until you use the WCF adapter…

This is an overview of the BizTalk software installed on our TFS Build Server:

• BizTalk Developer Tools and SDK  [needed to run Unit Tests]
• BizTalk Project Build Component  [needed to build BizTalk Projects]
• BizTalk 2010 Cumulative Update Pack 4.0 [contains this fix]
• Windows Communication Foundation Adapter [apparently needed to remotely import bindings containing WCF adapters]