Azure Thoughts, EAI Challenges

As you may have noticed as dedicated BizTalk professional ESB toolkit 2.0 is available . Is targeted towards BizTalk 2009 Server product and supports Windows 2003/2008 OS. There is a x86 and x64 msi, documents and compiled help file that can be download. I tried installing Toolkit on my BizTalk Server 2009 Personal Sandbox (2008 Windows Server OS, x86).     Above screenshots of installation process. Getting started screen. I am getting started now. Some interesting posts by other BizTalk pro’s: ESB Out and About – Richard Seroter; ESB Toolkit Ships – Brian Loesgen; BizTalk Server: ESB Toolkit Released – Charles Young; Availability of ESB Toolkit - BizTalk Server Team blog. Technorati: BizTalk Server 2009

Today I browse around some RSS feeds about BizTalk and came across two interesting things. First I interesting thing I found was a discussion on MSDN about ESB Guidance for BizTalk Server. I recently wrote an article together with Wouter Goedvriend about ESB Guidance package to be publish hopefully in Dutch Software Release Magazine coming fall. We posted a question: Is Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) a well known (super)pattern and if so in which scenario's does one apply it? On linked-in we got a couple of answers back. These were as follows: "My understanding of the concept of an ESB (Enterprise Service Bus) is that it is a way to bring all of the technologies within a company, entity, or enterprise together. Depending on the magnitude of what that could encompass, it *could* mean a simple product that "maps" everything together.Usually, though, it is a way -- and therefore, an architectural pattern as you stated -- to bring all of the different softwares, databa...

Since November 2007 Microsoft ESB Guidance 1.0 is out there. Recently a customer asked what ESB actually is and if it runs in a production environment. I am talking here about Microsoft ESB implementation. During DevDays 2008 in Holland Christian Weyer in his talk about BizTalk Services pointed out that ESB is a super pattern, which can be implemented with a variety of technologies. Again I hear somebody saying it is a pattern or architectural style and not a product. I posted a question on linkedin asking people in and outside my network, if they think ESB is a well known (super)pattern and when to apply. And I got some answers that it is a way to bring all of the technologies within a company, entity, or enterprise together. Depending on the magnitude of what that could encompass, it *could* mean a simple product that "maps" everything together. Usually, though, it is a way -- and therefore, an architectural pattern as you stated -- to bring all of the different software’s...

Last day here at the Microsoft SOA and BP Conference in Redmond I attended Modeling & Composition of Applications by Steve Swartz & Clemens Vasters. It was a cool session and there demo was great. It will be available later this year on their blogs (probably Clemens ). They will also release a white paper about this topic. Next session BizTalk Advanced Orchestration Concepts and best practices Stephen W. Thomas. This session was almost the same as done on Tech-Ed 2007 and can be downloaded . Last session I attended was building solutions with the Microsoft ESB guidance by Marty Wasznicky. Objectives and takeaways were like why and what of an ESB, guidance capabilities, scatter-gather, exception management framework and custom handlers and policy driven invocation. A couple things were the same as session yesterday. It was a fun last day which I spend mostly with a Dutch partner in crime Wouter Crooy from Macaw. Technorati: Microsoft SOA and BPM Conference 2007 SOA Microsoft ...

One of the last talks today at Microsoft SOA and BP Conference I attended is one from Marty Waszinicky about the architecture of the Microsoft ESB . Session objectives and takeaways are • Why what of an ESB (SOA Terminology) • Microsoft ESB guidance capabilities (messaging infrastructure, End point management, Operational Support, Invocation patterns) • Governed service platform with ESB guidance and SOA Governance vendors • Installing the ESB guidance (Demo) • Running the samples (Demo) • Using the ESB Management Portal • What’s NEXT Version one of Microsoft ESB will come soon (final version). Technorati: Microsoft ESB BizTalk 2006 R2

This week I had my first master class with the LEAP 2008 Program (see my previous posts ). Subject was (de)coupling of enterprise systems. For preparation of this master class we had to read a couple of things, which I mentioned also in my previous post . First we had a presentation from Dik Bijl concerning LEAP introduction, goals, means and vision/mission/strategy from Microsoft for the coming years. LEAP program is around topics from ‘back to front’: Restructure back office (Master class 1) Access to information and services in the back office (Master class 2) Provide scalable and reliable infrastructure for these services (Master class 3) Secure access to information and services (Master class 4) Support people in their jobs: anywhere & collaborate (Master class 5) In short Microsoft vision is a global village and virtual enterprise, where people and information are its prime assets. Here there mission is to enable people and business throughout the world to realize their full ...

This week I started working again after a nice holiday in Spain and France (see picture, where me and my colleague Joost are behind a laptop, still working!!!). I have begun on a new assignment (project) for a health insurance company. It involves evaluating BizTalk environment they set up together with solutions that were developed. Besides this I will lead a research project to see if the Microsoft ESB can be fitted in their SOA architecture that is evolving. Next to these activities I also will guide/coach information analysts, programmers on BizTalk and its possible role inside SOA. All-in-all a nice job and another opportunity to play an active architect role. During my holiday I have been thinking about how to divide BizTalk in a number of specific areas. I believe that before one will start developing solutions in BizTalk for an organization. The product should be evaluated for its use inside an enterprise and what its business value will be. If that is the case then one should...