How to delete Orphaned DTA Service Instances using Biztalk Health Monitor tool

BizTalk Health Monitor (BHM) and the built‑in Monitor BizTalk Server SQL Agent job only detect orphaned DTA service instances; they do not delete or repair them.

From the documentation:

• The Monitor BizTalk Server job “only scans for issues. It does not fix the issues found.” Orphaned DTA service instances are one of the issues it reports.
• Orphaned DTA service instances are not removed by the DTA Purge and Archive job in affected BizTalk versions until the relevant cumulative update is installed and the job is updated to use the new parameter.

To actually delete orphaned DTA service instances, use the supported database maintenance path rather than BHM alone:

1. Install the required BizTalk cumulative update for the BizTalk version so that orphaned DTA instances can be hard‑deleted:
   • BizTalk Server 2016: Cumulative Update 1
   • BizTalk Server 2013: Cumulative Update 5
   • BizTalk Server 2013 R2: Cumulative Update 6
2. Update the DTA Purge and Archive job definition to use the new parameter that enables hard delete of running/orphaned instances:
   • Edit the job step that calls dtasp_PurgeTrackingDatabase.
   • Ensure the call includes the @fHardDeleteRunningInstances parameter.
   • Set @fHardDeleteRunningInstances = 1 to delete running service instances older than @nHardDeleteDays.
   Example pattern from the documentation:

      declare @dtLastBackup datetime
      set @dtLastBackup = GetUTCDate()
      exec dtasp_PurgeTrackingDatabase 1, 0, 1, @dtLastBackup, 1
   

   Here, the last 1 is @fHardDeleteRunningInstances.
3. Run the DTA Purge and Archive job on BizTalkDTADb so that it purges and (optionally) archives tracking data, including eligible orphaned/running instances based on the parameters.
4. Use BHM/Monitor BizTalk Server to verify:
   • Run the Monitor BizTalk Server SQL Agent job (or the equivalent check from BHM).
   • Confirm that the count of “Orphaned DTA service instances” is reduced or zero.

BHM itself is used to detect and report the orphaned instances; the actual deletion is performed by the updated DTA Purge and Archive job with @fHardDeleteRunningInstances = 1 after the appropriate cumulative update is installed.

References:

• Orphaned BizTalk DTA service instances are not removed by the "DTA Purge and Archive" job in BizTalk Server
• Monitoring BizTalk Server Health and Performance
• Monitor the BizTalk Server Databases
• Checklist: Maintaining and Troubleshooting BizTalk Server Databases
• Purge Data from the BizTalk Tracking Database