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Showing posts from April, 2014

Sentinet – Service Virtualization Part 5 - BizTalk Server

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In the previous post I have discussed the benefits of the service virtualization concept for BizTalk applications that have to provide many alternative endpoints configured with different security requirements. I have demonstrated how Sentinet provides easy means to achieve this goal where I configured Sentinet virtual service with two endpoints that route messages to the same single BizTalk Receive Location. Both endpoints provide secure HTTPS access to the BizTalk application with one endpoint configured with anonymous access, and the second configured with the username/password authentication and access control based on specific username/password credentials. In this post I would like to continue where I left off in the previous post, and demonstrate how to set up another endpoint in the virtual service. This time I want my BizTalk application to make use of a different security mechanism based on the client X.509 certificate. Digital certificates are often used in an applicatio

Sentinet – Service Virtualization Part 4 - BizTalk Server

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In the previous post I have discussed the protocol mediation between SOAP and REST services by the Sentinet product. I also demonstrated how Sentinet provides monitoring capabilities for service and API message exchanges. In this post I would like to continue my exploration of the Sentinet and share my experiences of using Sentinet together with the BizTalk Server. In this scenario I want to expose the data of my LOB systems through the BizTalk Server. The BizTalk Adapter Pack includes WCF LOB Adapters that will give me access to LOB systems like SAP, Oracle eBusiness suite, and databases like SQL Server or Oracle. After BizTalk Send Port is configured with the WCF LOB Adapter to interface with LOB system, I can provide BizTalk with inbound endpoints that will expose my LOB data as a SOAP or REST service. I can expose BizTalk service endpoints using regular BizTalk WCF Adapters with bindings for HTTP or SOAP protocols. The access to these endpoints must be secured with authenticat

Windows Azure BizTalk Service REST API

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The BizTalk Service in Windows Azure can be managed through a REST API. The API provides programmatic access to much of the functionality available through the Management Portal. With the REST API for managing BizTalk Services you can perform the following operations: Register BizTalk Service Create or Update a BizTalk Service Get Cloud Service Get Cloud Services Get BizTalk Service Properties Suspend BizTalk Service Resume BizTalk Service Restart BizTalk Service Poll on an Async Operation on BizTalk Service Sync Access Control Keys Delete BizTalk Service Backup BizTalk Service Restore Azure BizTalk Service from Backup In this post I like to show how you can leverage the REST API to manage BizTalk Service by means of a windows form application. Security To send request messages through the operations of the API you will need to have authentication in place. The REST API like the Windows Azure Service Management API uses mutual authentication of manageme

BizTalk Developer Productivity with BTSG NoS AddIn

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A dear friend of mine has been working hard on a developer productivity add in for BizTalk projects in Visual Studio 2012. He name is Nino Crudele a Microsoft Integration MVP from Italy. Steef-Jan, Sandro, and Nino Palazzo Gotico in Piacenza, October 2013. The add in is called BTSG NoS . Nino started with the add in creation started last year after he thought it was time someone cared about developer productivity in BizTalk. Since there has been not any enhancements the last years in the BizTalk Server product regarding productivity Nino took matters in his own hands. The add in is almost ready for a public beta. At the moment the add in is vigorously tested by fellow Microsoft Integration MVP Sandro Perreira . And he recently created a few post about the add in: How to install BTSG NoS Addin for Visual Studio 2012 What is BTSG NoS Addin purpose and what features are available? (Part 1) What is BTSG NoS Addin purpose and what features are available? (Part 2) More posts

First book on WABS is there!

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Windows Azure BizTalk Services was released November 2013 and now within six months’ time there is a book about available. It has been written by Karthik Bharathy a Lead Program Manager in the BizTalk product group and longtime BizTalk veteran and Microsoft Integration MVP Jon Fancey . I have had the pleasure of being one the technical reviewers of this book and I must say the authors have done an excellent job. Is this a biased opinion. No, because: I have been working extensively with WABS and its predecessors EAI/Labs (beta). So I was able to put the thumbscrews on both of them, which resulted in valuable feedback for the book of the Microsoft BizTalk Product Group involvement, and they are very committed to it, Scott Guthrie endorses it and wrote a forward. WABS provides EAI or B2B services through the cloud and both are covered in the book. It is a promising technology with the increase demand for integration. The landscape we know today has changed with the rise of the