Rfid Factotum

Pro RFID with BizTalk Server 2009 - Hot Off the Presses

After a marathon writing binge over the past few months, the first book on BizTalk RFID has been published by Apress.  Written by myself, Ram Venkatesh (former Lead Architect on BizTalk RFID, now CEO of S3 Edge), and Mark Beckner (prominent writer and consultant on BizTalk Server and EDI) it's packed full of BizTalk RFID goodness.  Available now for order!

Read Chapter 1, or have a look through the table of contents:

• Foreword
• About the Authors
• About the Technical Reviewer
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• CHAPTER 1 RFID Background Primer
• Tracking Stuff: Eyeballs and Lasers
• Introducing Radio Frequency Identification
• Navigating the Technology Matrix
• What’s in a Tag?
• Active vs. Passive
• Passive Readers in Action
• Active RFID Technology
• Tag Memory: Reading and Writing
• Printers and Applicators
• Cutting Through the Hype
• The Science of the Feasible vs. the Art of the Possible
• The Myth of the RFID Solution
• Electronic Product Code Class 1 Generation 2
• Closed-Loop vs. Open-Loop Systems
• Applying RFID
• Conclusion
• CHAPTER 2 BizTalk RFID Architecture and Installation
• The BizTalk RFID Process Architecture
• The Physical Layer
• The Device Layer
• The Device Provider Layer
• Application-Level Services
• LOB and Back-End Connectivity
• The BizTalk RFID Device Model
• Identity
• Endpoint
• Connection Initiation
• Authentication
• Discovery
• Knobs
• Management
• Sources
• The BizTalk RFID Device Model for Applications
• The Device Model Assumed by DeviceConnection
• The Device Security Model
• The Concurrency Model for the DeviceConnection Class
• The RFID Business Process Device Model
• Installing BizTalk RFID
• Conclusion
• CHAPTER 3 The RFID “Hello World” Application
• Overview
• Using the Device Simulator
• Configuring Settings
• Configuring Notifications
• Creating a Device in BizTalk RFID
• Creating a Process
• Conclusion
• CHAPTER 4 Using RFID Manager
• Overview of RFID Manager
• Permissions
• Connecting to Servers
• Managing Server Properties
• RFID Manager Server Dashboard
• Managing Providers
• Managing Device Groups
• Managing Devices
• Importing and Exporting Devices
• Device Configuration
• Managing Device States
• Managing Processes
• Understanding Logical and Physical Devices
• Managing Components
• Conclusion
• CHAPTER 5 Asynchronous Event Processing in BizTalk RFID
• What Is a BizTalk RFID Process?
• Hands-On Exercises
• Event Processing Application Model
• Initialization
• Design-Time Support
• The Actual Event Handler Methods
• Tear-Down and Cleanup
• Deployment and Undeployment
• Strong Typing
• Error Handling
• Binding and Deployment
• Executing RFID Processes
• RFID Process Runtime Architecture
• Activation and Hosting
• BizTalk RFID Hosting Model for Windows Server
• Transactionality
• Conclusion
• CHAPTER 6 Command Processing
• Connecting BizTalk RFID to Your Application
• Processes
• Devices
• Device Management
• Implementing Synchronous Calls from .NET Applications
• Implementing Device Callbacks
• Managing Device Connections
• Standard Commands
• Vendor Commands
• Common Tasks
• Simulating Tag Reads
• Conclusion
• CHAPTER 7 BizTalk RFID Mobile
• BizTalk RFID Mobile Architecture
• Installing BizTalk RFID Mobile
• Creating a BizTalk RFID Mobile Application
• Asynchronous Event Notification
• Using Triggers to Control Asynchronous Notifications
• Scanning RFID Barcodes from your BizTalk RFID Mobile Application
• Integration with BizTalk RFID Server
• Remote Management Support
• Storing Events Locally in a SQL Server CE Database
• Tag Data Encoding and Translation
• Conclusion
• CHAPTER 8 Integrating with BizTalk Server
• Publishing Events to BizTalk Server
• Publishing to BizTalk Server Using MSMQ
• Publishing to BizTalk Server Using SqlServerSink
• Extending the Flexibility of Event Retrieval
• Calling the BizTalk BRE
• Logging Using the BRE
• Calling a BizTalk RFID Web Service Proxy from an Orchestration
• Conclusion
• CHAPTER 9 Direct Communication with Enterprise Applications
• Integrating with SQL Server Reporting Services
• Querying the BizTalk RFID Databases
• Writing the SQL Server Reporting Services Reports
• Connecting to BizTalk RFID via Remote Machines
• Integrating with SharePoint 2007
• Developing the SharePoint Web Part Foundation
• Extending the Web Part to Use the RFID Web Service Proxies
• Extending the Web Part to Use a Custom Web Service
• Conclusion
• CHAPTER 10 Diagnostics and Troubleshooting
• Setting the Stage: Tools and Techniques
• Introducing PowerShell
• Tailing a Log File
• Peeking Inside a BizTalk RFID Application
• BizTalk RFID Server Log Files
• Provider Log Files
• Process Log Files (Event Handlers)
• WMI for RFID
• Troubleshooting BizTalk RFID
• RFID Devices
• Tags and Objects
• Communication
• Service and Providers
• Logical Devices and Process Binding
• Event Handlers
• Sinks and External Applications
• Conclusion
• CHAPTER 11 Enterprise Planning and Deployment
• From Development to Production
• Staging RFID Device Definitions and Device Properties
• Planning for Disaster Recovery
• BizTalk RFID Footprint
• Enabling Cold Standby
• Running BizTalk RFID Under Microsoft Cluster Service
• Enterprise Deployment
• Servicing RFID Device Providers
• Servicing RFID Processes
• Changing Device Bindings for a Process
• Distributing and Upgrading Business Rules
• Enterprise Monitoring
• RFID Management Pack for BizTalk RFID
• Device Versioning
• BizTalk RFID Service Discovery Through Active Directory
• Conclusion
• CHAPTER 12 BizTalk RFID Recipes
• 12.1. Transport Protocols Within Event Handlers
• 12.2. RFID Data, XML, and SQL Server
  12.3. Debugging Tips
  12.4. Integration with BizTalk EDI Functionality
  12.5. Creating an XSD Based on BizTalk RFID XML