Pipeline Components and 64-Bit Computers
Pipeline components can be registered as 64-bit COM components or 32-bit COM components. In some cases, pipeline components can be registered as both a 64-bit and a 32-bit assembly. In these cases, the COM progID and CLSID should be the same in the 64-bit registry and in the Wow6432 registry. For example, pipeline components that are not dependent on the architecture and that are implemented in Microsoft Intermediate Language (MSIL) can be registered as both 64-bit and 32-bit assemblies. Pipeline .pcf files are not inherently 64-bit or 32-bit architecture-specific. The only exception is if a custom pipeline component wrote its own configuration to the .pcf file and that configuration stream was architecture dependent. We do not recommend creating this sort of component.
All the pipeline components that are built into Commerce Server Core Systems are provided for both 64-bit and 32-bit architectures, or are MSIL assemblies that can be used in either environment. The one exception is the Direct Mail pipeline, DMLPipe.pcf. All the components for the Direct Mail pipeline are provided as 32-bit components only.
If you register a pipeline component that will be used in a 64-bit architecture, you should use regasm.exe from the 64-bit .NET Framework SDK. If you register a pipeline component that will be used in a 32-bit architecture, you should use the regasm.exe from the 32-bit .NET Framework SDK.
If you do not use the correct version of regasm.exe for the execution environment, the pipeline component may appear in the pipeline editor as “Unknown Component”.
Because .pcf files are not architecture-dependent, you can use either version of the pipeline editor. If your pipeline component is registered as only a 32-bit or 64-bit component, you must use the correct version of the pipeline editor.