Install Sitecore 9.2 errors on Waiting for service 'Sitecore Marketing Automation Engine to start

Question

Whilst trying to install Sitecore 9.2 using either SIF or SIA we are seeing both approaches error with:

Waiting for service 'Sitecore Marketing Automation Engine - ###-MarketingAutomationService (###-MarketingAutomationService)' to start...

Then the installs just timeout

I have looked in the logs - C:\inetpub\wwwroot\*.xconnect\App_Data\jobs\continuous\AutomationEngine\App_Data\logs

And can see this stacktrace:

2019-07-23 11:29:50.250 +01:00 [Error] Failed to start the Marketing Automation Engine service.
System.InvalidOperationException: This configuration has not been initialized. Please call the initialize method before using it.
   at Sitecore.XConnect.Client.XConnectClientConfiguration.CheckInitialized()
   at Sitecore.XConnect.Client.XConnectClientConfiguration.get_CurrentModel()
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ServiceLookup.CallSiteRuntimeResolver.VisitScoped(ScopedCallSite scopedCallSite, ServiceProviderEngineScope scope)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ServiceLookup.DynamicServiceProviderEngine.c__DisplayClass1_0.b__0(ServiceProviderEngineScope scope)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ActivatorUtilities.ConstructorMatcher.CreateInstance(IServiceProvider provider)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ServiceLookup.CallSiteRuntimeResolver.VisitScoped(ScopedCallSite scopedCallSite, ServiceProviderEngineScope scope)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ServiceLookup.DynamicServiceProviderEngine.c__DisplayClass1_0.b__0(ServiceProviderEngineScope scope)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ActivatorUtilities.ConstructorMatcher.CreateInstance(IServiceProvider provider)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ServiceLookup.CallSiteRuntimeResolver.VisitScoped(ScopedCallSite scopedCallSite, ServiceProviderEngineScope scope)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ServiceLookup.DynamicServiceProviderEngine.c__DisplayClass1_0.b__0(ServiceProviderEngineScope scope)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ActivatorUtilities.ConstructorMatcher.CreateInstance(IServiceProvider provider)
   at Sitecore.XConnect.Configuration.Extensions.c__DisplayClass24_0.b__1(IServiceProvider provider)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ServiceLookup.CallSiteRuntimeResolver.VisitScoped(ScopedCallSite scopedCallSite, ServiceProviderEngineScope scope)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ServiceLookup.DynamicServiceProviderEngine.c__DisplayClass1_0.b__0(ServiceProviderEngineScope scope)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ActivatorUtilities.ConstructorMatcher.CreateInstance(IServiceProvider provider)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ServiceLookup.CallSiteRuntimeResolver.VisitTransient(TransientCallSite transientCallSite, ServiceProviderEngineScope scope)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ServiceLookup.CallSiteRuntimeResolver.VisitIEnumerable(IEnumerableCallSite enumerableCallSite, ServiceProviderEngineScope scope)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ServiceLookup.DynamicServiceProviderEngine.c__DisplayClass1_0.b__0(ServiceProviderEngineScope scope)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ActivatorUtilities.ConstructorMatcher.CreateInstance(IServiceProvider provider)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ServiceLookup.CallSiteRuntimeResolver.VisitScoped(ScopedCallSite scopedCallSite, ServiceProviderEngineScope scope)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ServiceLookup.DynamicServiceProviderEngine.c__DisplayClass1_0.b__0(ServiceProviderEngineScope scope)
   at Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.ServiceProviderServiceExtensions.GetService[T](IServiceProvider provider)
   at Sitecore.Xdb.MarketingAutomation.Engine.App.ServiceConfiguration.get_Engine()
   at Sitecore.Xdb.MarketingAutomation.Engine.App.EngineService.OnStart(String[] args)

The Windows logs doesn't tell me anything more than this error:

Just wondering if anyone else has experienced the same issues when installing 9.2 Initial Release?

Answer 1

While not a final solution, I was able to get around this by skipping the installation of the MarketingAutomationService.

1. In the same directory as setup.exe, open xconnect-xp0.json
2. Search for InstallServices
3. Remove the section

    {
        "Path": "[joinpath(variable('Services.MarketingAutomationEngine.InstallPath'), 'maengine.exe')]",
        "Arguments": [ "-i", "[variable('Services.MarketingAutomationEngine.Name')]" ]
    },

4. Save and run the install

---

Non-answer

To potentially help get to the root of the error, I'll explain a bit of what I uncovered:

1. After my install erred, I visited my xconnect site and it presented me with an option of two certs- neither of which were Sitecore's. I deleted the two certs it pulled up and ran the install. It again erred in the same manner, but this time I was able to view my xconnect site properly (it outputs a timestamp)
2. I attempted to run the maengine.exe application in interactive mode: .\maengine.exe -interactive
3. This showed a Forbidden error, along with the same stack trace as the OP
4. Curious, I opened Fiddler and reran in interactive mode and it showed a request to the root xConnect site, then a subsequent request to <xconnectroot>/configuration/models, which then returned the 401.
5. I traced the request to an async request on initialization of maengine, but didn't find an obvious root cause for the issue

Other troubleshooting steps:

• Removed all previous certs
• set AllowInvalid(Client)Certificates to true (xconnect site and maengine)
• Reviewed Failed Request Trace Logs (simply listed the 401)
• Reviewed all log files

Answer 2

Update

Be sure to disable Capture HTTPS CONNECTs and Decript HTTPS traffic. I ran into an issue where my certificate was invalid and came back as DO_NOT_TRUST_Fiddler instead of the Sitecore certificate. This caused a thumbprint mismatch when the service was started/xConnect was requested.

---

I was able to find a more elegant, complete solution to my previous answer: https://sitecore.stackexchange.com/a/20041/556

My work laptop has many settings restricted by my organization. One of which is my proxy settings.

From Windows search for "Proxy Settings":

This illustrated to me that my machine wasn't fully in my control.

Next, thanks to some fiddling (pun intended) I tried to hit my xConnect site with Fiddler opened. To my surprise, it loaded with no certificate errors.

I then noticed that Fiddler hijacked my Proxy settings:

Highlights:

1. No more big brother
2. Auto proxy detection disabled
3. Manual proxy enabled
4. Fiddler proxy settings configured

I reinstalled Sitecore 9.3 with Fiddler opened and it succeeded with no exceptions.

Thanks to the brief answer here, I was able to get on the right track.

Answer 3

Get-Childitem cert:\LocalMachine\root -Recurse | Where-Object {$.Issuer -ne $.Subject}

Get-Childitem cert:\LocalMachine\root -Recurse | Where-Object {$.Issuer -ne $.Subject} | Move-Item -Destination Cert:\LocalMachine\CA

this will resolve your issue.

Thanks