1dent1ty cHa0s

I reported two errors from my last post and I'm happy to report that the bugs I filed are now both closed – here is the scoop:

• RC1 - System.InvalidOperationException occurred in Microsoft.IdentityManagement.FindPrivateKey.exe [3124] – [Closed, as Fixed] this turned out to be a bug fixed post RC1, so while valid it's not entirely new you may still encounter this if you attempt to use your own certificates. For the time being, use the auto-generated certificate.
• RC1 - Service and Portal install does not allow for SQL Alias – [Closed, by design] this turned out to be a user configuration issue. Steps to use an SQL Alias on an x64 system are below.

How to Create a Named Pipes SQL Server Alias for use with FIM 2010

There are cases where you may want FIM to communicate with the database server over a specific protocol and not just default to Shared Memory or TCP/IP. There are performance advantages to using Named Pipes when the client and server are on the same box, so here is how you setup an alias for use with Named Pipes. The oh so helpful Microsoft directions are here. My problem stemmed from an assumption I made that the x86 and x64 SQL Native Clients needed to have different aliases. It would be more assuring if I could find something stated to this effect but I haven't found anything yet. Here are my instructions for creating a Named Pipe alias in SQL Server 2008:

1. Open SQL Server Configuration Manager

1. Expand SQL Native Client 10.0 Configuration (32bit)
2. Select Client Protocols, right click and take the Properties

1. If Named Pipes is under the Disabled Protocols section, select Named Pipes and click the > button to move it over, and use the up arrow button to move it to the top; click OK to continue
2. Repeat these steps for SQL Native Client 10.0 Configuration
3. NOTE: "The SQL Native Client 10.0 Configuration" entry is the x64 client
4. Return to the SQL Native Client 10.0 Configuration (32bit), select Aliases, right click and select New Alias

1. Use the pull-down for Protocol to select Named Pipes, set the Alias Name to "fim", and the server to "." or "localhost" whichever you prefer; click OK to continue

1. Repeat these steps for SQL Native Client 10.0 Configuration

I tried creating a 32-bit alias called ILM and a 64-bit alias called FIM and then feeding either one to the installer to see which one it used and it failed on both tries…which tells me it's somehow trying to use both clients or it's some other validation mechanism I'm not fully understanding. If you have a clue, please elucidate!
Now, during the installation when it asks you for the SQL Server, you give it the Alias name, not the server name. To validate this is working, run the following SQL Query:
You should see something like this: