BizTalk Server Team Blog

As you know "Oslo" is the family of new technologies that enable data-driven development and execution of services and applications.  There will be several sessions at PDC discussing the technologies involved in “Oslo” in much detail.  In the interim, we have published two interviews on Channel 9. 

In these interviews, our very own Ron Jacobs talks to David Chappell and Jon Flanders to understand their perspectives on “Oslo” and how we can prepare for the road ahead.  If you’re wondering about “Oslo” tools, language and repository and want to build your apps today to prepare for the road ahead, you’d then definitely want to watch these videos.

Enjoy!

Marjan Kalantar

We recently started the Connected .NET blog, where we’ll focus on the Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) and Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) pillars of the .NET Framework.  You definitely want to follow this blog which targets to make content more discoverable and will be frequently updated by members of our product team with interesting news and tips.  Two other great resources are our MSDN sites for WF and WCF which we recently relaunched.  These portal-like sites will be frequently updated with fresh content based on your feedback.  

Another great blog to keep in mind is from our colleague Keith Pijanowski who frequently blogs on SOA related issues and recently started a series on WF.

Regards,

Marjan Kalantar

This  virtual .NET Developer conference will feature loads of great content and speakers including RD's, MVP's, and more!  Hosted by  SSWUG.org at  http://www.vconferenceonline.com/dotnet/.

To see more details and RSVP: http://www.facebook.com/n/?event.php&eid=18189163425

Regards,

Marjan Kalantar

The new Microsoft BizTalk Server Performance Optimization Guide has been released to the web.

This document provides guidance & best practices on optimizing BizTalk Server performance for demanding production environments. It is based on numerous real-world engagements with customers by the BizTalk Customer Advisory Team CAT (Rangers), Premier Field Engineering and MCS.  

The guidance consists of the following 4 sections:

• Getting Started: an overview of the BizTalk Server functional components that can affect performance. It also describes the phases of a BizTalk Server performance assessment.
• Finding and Eliminating Bottlenecks: The Finding and Eliminating Bottlenecks section describes various types of performance bottlenecks as they relate to BizTalk Server solutions and information about how to resolve the bottlenecks.
• Automating Testing: Describes how to implement an automated build process and how to automate functional and load testing using Visual Studio Team System, BizUnit and Loadgen.
• Optimizing Performance: The Optimizing Performance section provides guidance for optimizing performance of specific components in a BizTalk Server environment

The guide is available in several formats and from several locations:

We are launching a series of MSDN webcasts to explore the possibilities of Microsoft .NET 3.5 Framework through demonstrations and deep dives on Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) and Windows Workflow Foundation (WF).   

Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) is Microsoft's unified programming model for building and connecting service-oriented applications. Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) is the programming model, engine, and tooling for quickly building workflow-enabled and long-running applications. Together, or separate, WCF and WF provide a platform to help developers build powerful, flexible and extensible applications that employ the latest service-oriented and workflow capabilities.

In these series, you will learn from the industry experts on how to build WF/WCF applications

You can find links to our June MSDN Webcasts here:  http://www.microsoft.com/events/series/msdnnetframework35.aspx?tab=webcasts&id=liveall

We’ll update the site in the next weeks with more information on our upcoming influencer webcasts for the month of July.

Regards,

Marjan Kalantar

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

Enjoy,

Ofer

I’m glad to announce the latest addition to our BizTalk posters series. We have just published the new BizTalk Server 2006 R2 Business Activity Monitoring (BAM) Poster. You can find it in the Microsoft download center here.

This poster provides an overview of the entire life cycle of a BizTalk BAM implementation. It illustrates the design of the observation model by the business analyst, mapping the observation model to the implementation by the developer, deployment by the system administrator, and the presentation channels of the information for business end users.

We hope to promote the usage of the BizTalk BAM infrastructure by enabling both new and experienced users to better understand the concepts, processes it entails.

Enjoy it,

Ofer

Today in Steven Martin's blog, we announced our plans to deliver BizTalk Server 2006 R3 to take advantage of the latest versions of 08 wave of products (Windows Server 2008, .Net framework 3.5, Visual Studio 2008 and SQL Server 2008).  This will enable us to continue to take advantage of the improvements in our latest platform releases.  Furthermore, we will include additional investments in this release to deliver customer-requested capabilities in the following areas:

·         New web service registry capabilities with support for UDDI version 3.0

·         Service enablement of applications (through new and enhanced adapters for LOB applications, databases, and legacy/host systems)

·         Service enablement of "edge" devices through BizTalk RFID Mobile

·         Enhanced interoperability and connectivity support for industry protocols (such as SWIFT and EDI)

·         SOA patterns and practices guidance

We have also launched the BizTalk Server 2006 R3 TAP program.  If you have any customers that would be interested in this program, please visit our Connect site to sign-up.

TAP Sign-up Instructions:

·                      Please log on to Connect

·                      Under Categories select Server

·                      Look for BizTalk TAP Programs and select the "apply" link next to BizTalk Server 2006 R3

·                      Download and complete the BizTalk Server 2006 R3 TAP Nomination form and click the select button

Regards,

Marjan Kalantar

At the RFID Journal Live event, we announced launch of our BizTalk RFID Mobile TAP program.

BizTalk RFID Mobile is an RFID platform for Windows Mobile and CE. BizTalk RFID Mobile consists of a runtime engine, tools, and components to develop, deploy, and manage RFID solutions on mobile devices. In combination with BizTalk Server RFID, the mobility release provides a platform for real-time decision making. BizTalk RFID Mobile extends management and event processing to mobile devices and allows communication between the server and mobile platforms.

Media outlets covering the news include Ars Technica, CRN, CXO Today, eChannel Line, InformationWeek, Network World, Red Herring, Redmond Developer News, RFID Journal, RFID News, RFID Update, SD Times and VNUnet.

More information about this launch can be found at the following sites:

·         Keynote: http://www.youtube.com/biztalkrfid

·         Website: http://www.microsoft.com/rfid

·         Blogs: http://blogs.msdn.com/sudhir and http://blogs.msdn.com/biztalkrfid

·         Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/biztalkrfid/

·         Press Release: http://www.microsoft.com/Presspass/press/2008/apr08/04-17RealTimeRFIDPR.mspx

Regards,

Marjan Kalantar

Microsoft BizTalk Server Operations Guide is now available on MSDN.  You can also download it as a separate PDF, DOCX or CHM.  This guide is based on real-world experiences around maintaining and operating BizTalk Solutions in demanding production environments.

Happy Reading!

Marjan Kalantar