MSDTC in Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008

In both Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 the administration of MSDTC is a little different than Windows 2003 SP2 and Windows XP SP2. On a standalone machine, the difference is only in the layout of the options available, and with the exception of TIP, all functionality is still configurable through the user interface.

The new security features still remain as per <https://support.microsoft.com/kb/899191>. However the interface for these settings is a little different.

There is now a more explicit distinction between the specified local and remote Coordinators and the settings of these TM's. So as with Windows 2000, the “my computer” MSDTC properties only specify the local or remote coordinator:

Now the settings for the Coordinators are more explicitly (in location) associated with the specific DTC in question.

e.g. Component Services -> Computers -> My Computer -> Distributed Transaction Coordinator ->Local DTC

When you select the properties of the Local DTC, you will find the windows which gives the options you have come to expect. This includes tabs for Tracing, logging and security.

The main reason behind this is due to the new clustering features which allow both clustered and local instances of MSDTC to be configured independently. For more about MSDTC on Windows 2008 Clusters see https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc730992.aspx.

As stated the missing setting that you maybe familiar with is to enable TIP, more information can be found: https://blogs.msdn.com/chrisforster/archive/2008/02/19/msdtc-in-windows-vista-and-windows-server-2008-removal-of-the-tip-checkbox.aspx.

Chris Forster