We officially RTW'd the BizTalk ESB Toolkit 2.0 on June 8, 2009.

The BizTalk ESB Toolkit 2.0, formerly known as the ESB Guidance has been released to the web on the new ESB page in the BizTalk Developer Center on MSDN.

This toolkit is a collection of tools and libraries that extends BizTalk Server 2009 capabilities of supporting a loosely coupled and dynamic messaging architecture. It functions as middleware that provides tools for rapid mediation between services and their consumers. Enabling maximum flexibility at run time, the BizTalk ESB Toolkit 2.0 simplifies loosely coupled composition of service endpoints and management of service interactions.

What does the BizTalk ESB Toolkit 2.0 provide?

The BizTalk ESB Toolkit 2.0 provides key building blocks that are required for implementing a comprehensive service-oriented infrastructure (SOI) including:

·         Endpoint run-time discovery and virtualization. The service consumer does not need to be aware of the service provider location and endpoint details; a new or modified service provider can be added to the ESB, without interruptions to the service consumer.

·         Loosely coupled service composition. The service provider and service consumer do not need to be aware of service interaction style.

·         Dynamic message transformation and translation. The mapping definition between distinct message structure and semantics is resolved at run time.

·         Dynamic routing. Run-time content-based, itinerary-based, or context-based message routing.

·         Centralized exception management. Exception management framework, services, and infrastructure elements that make it possible to create, repair, resubmit, and compensate fault messages that service consumers or BizTalk components submit.

·         Quality of service. An asynchronous publish/subscribe engine resolves different levels of service availability and provides high availability, scalability, and message traceability for ESB implementations.

·         Protocol transformation. Providing the ability for service provider and service consumer to interact via different protocols including WS-* standards for Web Services. For example, a service provider can send an HTTP Web Service request, which will result in sending a message via Message Queuing.

·         Extensibility. Provides multiple extensibility points to extend functionality for endpoint discovery, message routing, and additional BizTalk Server adapters for run time and design time.

Frequently Asked Questions

When will the BizTalk ESB Toolkit 2.0 be officially released?

The BizTalk ESB Toolkit 2.0 along with documentation will be released to the Web on Tuesday, June 9, 2009.

From where will downloads be provided?

You can download the BizTalk ESB Toolkit 2.0 and documentation from the Microsoft Download Center. The toolkit is packaged as binaries and samples in a Windows Installer.

What will the official name of ESB Guidance 2.0 be?

The official name is BizTalk ESB Toolkit 2.0.

What happens to those customers who are currently using ESB Guidance 1.0?

Customers who are using ESB Guidance 1.0 are strongly encouraged to upgrade to BizTalk Server 2009 and the BizTalk ESB Toolkit 2.0.  ESB Guidance 1.0 will be deprecated in the next few months. Also, proactive monitoring of the ESB 1.0 forums will no longer take place after the BizTalk ESB Toolkit 2.0 is released.

Will source code for signed binaries be provided?

Source code for signed binaries will be available as a separate download (date to be determined).

What license will be used?

It will be a standard Microsoft, free, binary-only license.

How will the BizTalk ESB Toolkit 2.0 be packaged?

It will be packaged as a binary-only Windows Installer (32- and 64-bit).

Will BizTalk ESB Toolkit 2.0 bug fixes be provided?

Bugs will be addressed on a best-effort basis, by the BizTalk ESB Toolkit Team.

Where do customers file bugs and requests?

The BizTalk ESB Toolkit 2.0 Connect site has been created to log bugs with the BizTalk ESB Toolkit Team and to provide updates to additional tools over time. Once you log a bug, someone will respond to you within five days with an acknowledgment and status.

What is the BizTalk ESB Toolkit 2.0 forum commitment?

Assistance will be provided through forums, with a one-year notice of deprecation plans. Any fixes and responses to questions in the forums are best effort, and we will continue to leverage the community to provide peer assistance, though with a capability to issue critical fixes if necessary.

Where is the online community hosted?

A dedicated ESB Toolkit Forum is provided on MSDN, and can be located from within the BizTalk Dev Center.

Download BizTalk 2006 R2 Beta 2 bits/SDK

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=936046

Pluralsight Training: Applied BizTalk Server 2006 R2 (4 days) – July 17 in Los Angeles, CA and November 6 in Waltham, MA

http://www.pluralsight.com/courses/AppliedBizTalkServer2006R2.aspx

QuickLearn Training: Updating Your Skills For BizTalk Server 2006 R2 (3 days) – August 1 in Redmond, WA and August 29 in Stockholm, Sweden

http://www.quicklearn.com/class_Updating_Your_Skills_For_BizTalk_Server_2006_R2.aspx

Free Training - Collection 5134: Developing Rich Experiences with Microsoft® .NET Framework 3.0 and Visual Studio® 2005

Here's some details of what the offer includes:

This collection of 3 2-hour premium clinics teaches about the new capabilities provided by the .NET Framework 3.0. These clinics are for experienced Developers and Software Architects who are looking to adopt Microsoft's next generation technology within their solutions.
Topics covered within the collection include:

• Windows Presentation Foundation
• Windows Workflow Foundation
• Windows Communication Foundation

Requirements:

• Experience (2 years) as a full time developer using Visual Studio 2005 / Visual Studo 2003
• Experience developing one or more of the following:
  • Web Applications
  • Windows Forms Applications
  • Server Components
  • XML Web Services

This offer includes the following:

E-Learning

• Clinic 5135: Introduction to Developing with Windows® Presentation Foundation and Visual Studio® 2005
• Clinic 5136: Introduction to Developing with Windows® Workflow Foundation and Visual Studio® 2005
• Clinic 5137: Introduction to Developing with Windows® Communication Foundation and Visual Studio® 2005

Link to Microsoft E-Learning, Collection 5134

I just tried opening the administrative console and out of nowhere got an error "root element is missing (c:\Documents and Settings\user1\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft Corporation\Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006\Microsoft.BizTalk.Administration.Snapin.dll.config)".

 To resolve this issue, delete this file:

c:\Documents and Settings\user1\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft Corporation\Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006\Microsoft.BizTalk.Administration.Snapin.dll.config

The next time you start the BizTalk Server 2006 Administration Console, the Administration.Snapin.dll.config file will be auto created for you.

Cheers.

Our Bay Area BizTalk 2006 User Group kickoff meeting went really well. We had 2 great presenters deliver 2 very interesting topics. I'm starting to plan for the next meeting scheduled for sometime in mid January '07. Some of the choices for topics I'm thinking of having delivered are:

1. BizTalk and Business Process Management

2. Service Oriented Achitecture (Introduction)

3. Deep Dive into the BizTalk Rules Engine

4. Windows Workflow Foundation

Let me know what you preferences are. You can email me directly at allan.naim@microsoft.com

On November 9, 2006, we’ll be holding our kickoff meeting for the Microsoft BizTalk Server User Group. 

Topic:            Taking advantage of BizTalk 2006 Error Handling Capabilities

Presenter:    Daniel Hester, Principal Consultant, Magenic

When:            Thursday Nov 9, 2006 from 6:30PM to 9:00PM (snacks served)

Where:           Microsoft Office, San Francisco

Abstract:       This session will focus on the different terrains where errors typically occur, including: ports, maps, pipelines, orchestrations, and routing failures.  Daniel will examine optimal strategies and best practices for handling problems in these areas. 

Key areas of November’s meeting will cover:

• Scopes
• Exception handlers
• Compensation
• Suspension
• Termination
• Port retries
• Error Reports (a new feature of BizTalk Server 2006)
• And a whole slew of tips and tricks...

For more information including location, directions, and registration, please CLICK HERE.

Agenda:

Time               Presenter                  Topic

·         6:30pm           Allan Naim                Logistics and Introductions

·         6:45pm           Daniel Hester           Topic as detailed above

·         7:45pm           Daniel Hester           Q&A

·         8:00pm           Local staff                  Draws and giveaways

MS BizTalk Server 2006 User Group Background

The Microsoft BizTalk 2006 User Group is organized by Microsoft Northern California with the objective of fostering a vibrant community of knowledgeable and capable BizTalk Server developers and IT professionals. The BizTalk 2006 User Group meetings will usually include   technical presentations and/or training as well as opportunities to share and discuss issues, problems and topics of mutual interest.  There is no fee to attend and the group will usually meet bi-monthly.

©2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, BizTalk are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Microsoft Corporation reserves the right to change or cancel this event without prior notice.

Make sure you check out enhancements to the BizTalk Server docs and samples which includes:

• CHM version of BizTalk 2006 docs
• Updated install/config/upgrade guides
• 31 new code samples
• Many new whitepapers and other content