Allan Naim's BizTalk Blog

BizTalk ESB Toolkit 2.0

AllanNaim — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 15:29:00 GMT

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.

Announcing the Microsoft BizTalk Server Operations Guide

AllanNaim — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 08:22:00 GMT

The BizTalk Product Team is pleased to announce the availability of the Microsoft BizTalk Server Operations Guide.

The 660 page guide is available on MSDN, and as a separate PDF, DOCX or CHM download.

http://download.microsoft.com/download/a/a/d/aad035e6-e03b-4bea-ad9a-fa1ff8d10ca0/BTS06R2_OpReadiness.docx
http://download.microsoft.com/download/a/a/d/aad035e6-e03b-4bea-ad9a-fa1ff8d10ca0/BTS06R2_OpReadiness.exe
http://download.microsoft.com/download/a/a/d/aad035e6-e03b-4bea-ad9a-fa1ff8d10ca0/BTS06R2_OpReadiness.pdf

The guide is based on real-world experience from BizTalk Rangers, PFE and other customer engagements. This guide is intended to provide guidance around maintaining and operating BizTalk Solutions in demanding production environments. This has been a long standing request from our customers and partners.

The target audience is Microsoft field, partner organizations, and customers who plan, deploy, and maintain BizTalk Server installations. The guide was created from collections of checklists, best practices, and presentations to guide future BizTalk Server operations IT professionals.

Enjoy!

Allan

Interested in BizTalk 2006 R2 Training?

AllanNaim — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 18:56:00 GMT

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

Interesting article on the potential integration of SOA and BI.

AllanNaim — Fri, 18 May 2007 20:31:00 GMT

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb245659.aspx

Microsoft is offering free WF, WCF and WPF Training

AllanNaim — Tue, 15 May 2007 22:25:00 GMT

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

Embedded BizTalk

AllanNaim — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 22:27:00 GMT

Question from Student:

So far in my readings I’ve been able to get a better understanding of what Biztalk is and the functionalities it provides as a whole.

If one is designing a custom application that utilizes functionalities of Biztalk, is there a way to embed it into your application when the situation does not call for the entire tool?

I see a lot of functionality within BizTalk that will come in handy for projects I’ve seen implemented at my company, but they don’t necessarily need the entire BizTalk. At some points it seems like using a bazooka to swat a fly.

BizTalk has a wealth of functionalities but the current environment here doesn’t call for all of them all at once.

How Do I scale down BizTalk to allow for smaller requirements?

That way, smaller projects have the potential to grow into larger scaled projects that will require even greater functionalities from BizTalk.

Instructor Response:

Regarding your question of “If one is designing a custom application that utilizes functionalities of Biztalk…” this has been a topic which comes up pretty often. Even Microsoft noticed that a number of applications we were building had workflow as a natural part of the application. For instance, SQL Server has a workflow component (SQL Server Integration Services), SharePoint needed workflow, Office needed a workflow component, not to mention Project Server, Exchange, and many others. And of course there’s BizTalk Server… which already included an excellent workflow engine which was being actively developed and improved with each release of BizTalk.

The problem was that each of these development teams was developing their own workflow engine. So instead of each team “re-inventing the wheel”, we decided to make the capability of providing workflow an extension of .NET Framework so anyone can leverage workflow within their application (including Microsoft). This extension of the .NET Framework 3.0 is called Windows Workflow Foundation. Using Windows WF, you can very easily embed workflow within your application. And you’ll see in the next releases of a lot of our products that they will also utilize Windows Workflow Foundation. In the future, BizTalk will also support Windows Workflow Foundation (as a matter of fact, the same development team is working on both BizTalk and Windows Workflow Foundation).

If you’re currently developing an application which needs to include workflow within it, I would recommend Windows WF. But if you need to develop an application which includes workflow across your organization and systems, I would recommend BizTalk.

Keep in mind that BizTalk is a true enterprise class server which provides many (many) features that are not included in Windows WF. In order to show where BizTalk fits, and where Windows WF fits, check out this slide deck:

http://dustins.officeisp.net/Shared%20Documents/Compare%20BizTalk%20and%20Workflow%20in%204%20Slides.ppt

But of course Windows WF does not address the communication capabilities that BizTalk’s adapters cover… so with that, Windows Communication Foundation can fill some of the gaps, but definitely not all. BizTalk adapters far outreach WCF in a number of ways.

BizTalk Server 2006 Administration Console

AllanNaim — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 18:44:00 GMT

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.

Partner Academy - "What's new in BizTalk 2006"

AllanNaim — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 19:01:00 GMT

I'm co-teaching a Microsoft Partner Academy online course called "What's new in BizTalk 2006" from Jan 22, 2007 until March 9, 2007, with my colleague Dustin Sell. For the next couple of weeks, I'll be posting some of the questions asked by the class and provide answers while at the same time open things up for discussion. Feel free to dive into the discussions!!!

It was a great kickoff meeting....

AllanNaim — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 22:21:00 GMT

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

BizTalk User Group - Nov 9th Kickoff Meeting in San Francisco

AllanNaim — Sun, 29 Oct 2006 17:34:00 GMT

Hello All,

The updated agenda is as follows:

Topic: Microsoft on ESB Guidance

Presenter: Marty Wasznicky, Microsoft West Coast Regional Program Manager for the Connected Systems Division

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

Agenda:

Time Presenter Topic

· 6:30pm Allan Naim Logistics and Introductions

· 6:45pm Marty Wasznicky Microsoft on ESB Guidance

· 7:45pm Daniel Hester BizTalk 2006 Error Handling Capabilities

· 8:45pm Local staff Draws and giveaways

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

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.

Nov 9, 2006 - NorCal BizTalk UserGroup Meeting

AllanNaim — Thu, 19 Oct 2006 17:40:00 GMT

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

Microsoft's New Business Process Management (BPM) Site

AllanNaim — Sun, 17 Sep 2006 18:37:00 GMT

Check out Microsoft's new BPM site and learn how integrated, easy to use business process management solutions from Microsoft make it possible for organizations of all sizes to increase sales, reduce costs, optimize existing customer and supplier relationships, and recognize and react quickly to changing conditions to gain a real business advantage.

BizTalk Server 2006 Documentation Update

AllanNaim — Fri, 30 Jun 2006 20:15:00 GMT

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

Core Documentation Download

For this release, we are publishing a .chm file for download. Among the many things you will find:

Complete documentation for all BizTalk Server Line of Business Adapters, including new tutorials, one for each adapter. See the section "Using Adapters."
Troubleshooting guidance for each of the native BizTalk adapters. See the section "Troubleshooting Adapters."
Troubleshooting Instructions for how to capture a memory dump. See the section "How to Capture a Memory Dump of a BizTalk Process."
Disaster recovery instructions for backing up and restoring your BizTalk Server and databases. See the section "Backing Up and Restoring BizTalk Server"
Updated Tutorials. See the section, "BizTalk Server 2006 Tutorials"
Information for improving fault tolerance. See the section "Planning and Architecture"
Updated Developer's Reference that now includes the BAM namespaces that were not included in the RTM documentation. See the section "Developer's Reference"

Updated Installation, Configuration, and Upgrade Guides Download

The installation instructions explain how to install BizTalk Server 2006 on Windows XP, Windows 2000 Server, or Windows Server 2003 in a single server or multiserver environment.

New BizTalk Server 2006 Code Samples Download

We have posted 31 new code samples to the BizTalk Server Developer Center since RTM.

Publishing and Consuming Web Services with SOAP Headers
BAM and HAT Correlation
Consuming Web Services with Array Parameters
Extending the BizTalk Server Administration Console
Viewing Failed Tracking Data
Inserting XML Nodes from Business Rules
Using the Mass Copy Functoid
Using Role Links
Split File Pipeline
Using Enterprise Library 2.0 with BizTalk Server
Consuming Web Services
Console Adapter
Delivery Notification
Using Long-Running Transactions in Orchestrations
Using the Looping Functoid
Mapping to a Repeating Structure
Parallel Convoy
Policy Chaining
Recoverable Interchange Processing Using Pipelines
Using the Table Looping Functoid
Using the Value Mapping and Value Mapping (Flattening) Functoids
Direct Binding to an Orchestration
Direct Binding to the MessageBox Database in Orchestrations
Using a Custom .NET Type for a Message in Orchestrations
Writing Orchestration Information as XML Using the ExplorerOM API
Correlating Messages with Orchestration Instances
SSO as Configuration Store
Atomic Transactions with COM+ Serviced Components in Orchestrations
Exception Handling in Orchestrations
Implementing Scatter and Gather Pattern
Using the SQL Adapter with Atomic Transactions in Orchestrations

BizTalk Server 2006 Developer Center and TechCenter

On, May 1st, we launched the BizTalk Server 2006 Developer Center. This project constituted a complete rebuild of the previous BizTalk Server 2004 Developer Center. For May and June we featured orchestrations. This included new code samples, an FAQ paper on orchestrations, and in-depth content surfaced from the core documentation. With the re-design of the site it’s easier than ever to learn to develop, deploy, administer, and use BizTalk Server 2006. For July we will be focusing on Adapters!

In addition to the Developer Center, we also launched the BizTalk Server 2006 TechCenter. The TechCenter provides easy access to BizTalk Server 2006 technical documentation, downloads, and community, as well as to IT Pro favorites such as the Events & Errors Message Center. Each navigation page within the technical library includes quick access to search BizTalk Server newsgroups and knowledge-base articles as seen, for example, on the Getting Started page. Among many things, the site contains:

Virtual labs
The end-to-end tutorial as downloadable Word docs
New content on Clustering BizTalk Server
Links to the Installation Instructions
Links to the Production Documentation published on MSDN

Other Content

In addition to the fixes introduced, we have also been busy over the past few months producing, updating, and publishing other valuable content. This includes:

Just started my new Blog

AllanNaim — Fri, 30 Jun 2006 19:54:00 GMT

I'm a Microsoft BizTalk Technology Specialist based out of Mountain View, CA. As a Technology Specialist, my raison-d'etre is to provide expert technical and sales support to ensure successful evaluation, adoption and implementation of Microsoft BizTalk Server for my customers located all over Northern California.

I'm now accepting ideas about what BizTalk topics/discussions you would like to see on my blog in the future. I'm also planning on creating a monthly newsletter with a "What's New" perspective for BizTalk Server.

Cheers,

Allan Naim (anaim@microsoft.com)