August 2005 - Stephen W. Thomas BizTalk MVP

Using Dynamic Transforms (Mapping) in Biztalk 2004 Orchestrations

Dynamic mapping is the concept of specifying the map to be used for a transform at runtime inside the orchestration. That means no Transform Shape is used to specify the map or input and output schemas. The help guide talks about dynamic mapping. It is under the heading “ Assigning to Transforms Dynamically”. The help guide does not go into any detail as to when or why you would want to...

Published Sun, Aug 28 2005 12:20 PM by Stephen W. Thomas

Filed under: biztalk 2004, maps, untyped messages, orchestration

Load Generation Tool For Testing BizTalk Server

A few days ago Microsoft released a Load Generation tool to help simulate load for testing Biztalk 2004 solutions. You can download this testing tool here . It seems that the installation package defaults the installation path for the testing tool to something other then your C drive. In one case, my installation went to my E:\ drive and in the other two cases it went to my D:\ drive. Just make sure...

Published Sat, Aug 27 2005 3:15 PM by Stephen W. Thomas

Filed under: biztalk, testing

Promoted Properties and Distinguished Fields in Biztalk Server

Quick Tip on Property Promotion : Distinguished fields can not be used to promote values in a record. Promoted Properties can only be used on records with Simple Content type. Both can be used to promote elements and attributes. Don’t forget Promoted Properties are limited to 255 characters.

Published Tue, Aug 23 2005 9:50 PM by Stephen W. Thomas

Filed under: schema, promoted properties

Mapper Improvements in Biztalk 2006

Biztalk Server 2006 introduces many exciting new features like Recoverable Message Processing and Suspended Message Routing . With great new features like these, sometimes the map and schema editor improvements can get overlooked. Anyone that has worked with Biztalk 2004 maps has probably seen this message pop up: “The map contains invalid links. Please validate the contents of your map. Saving...

Published Mon, Aug 22 2005 6:21 PM by Stephen W. Thomas

Filed under: maps, biztalk 2006

Direct Binding Sample for BizTalk 2004

Direct binding in Biztalk Server 2004 can be used to send messages from one Orchestration to another. It can also be used to send messages directly into the message box, but that is not the focus of this post. Direct binding is easily misunderstood, specifically Partner Port binding since can be somewhat confusing to set up. I will walk through the 4 simple steps to set up direct binding using partner...

Published Wed, Aug 10 2005 10:48 PM by Stephen W. Thomas

Filed under: biztalk 2004, orchestration, direct binding

Overview of the New BizTalk 2006 Sharepoint Adapter

I came across Adrian Hamza’s blog today. His blog seems to be totally dedicated to the Sharepoint Adapter for Biztalk. It looks like it will be a great resource for information on anything related to Sharepoint and Biztalk integration. The post I like best gives a detailed comparison between the GotDotNet Sharepoint Adapter and the new Biztalk 2006 Sharepoint Adapter. I think the best new “feature”...

Published Tue, Aug 9 2005 12:09 PM by Stephen W. Thomas

Filed under: biztalk 2006, sharepoint

Performance Testing Tool for Biztalk

Larry Beck from Avanade has released a Biztalk Throughput and Capacity Testing Tool for testing Biztalk Performance. This tool will automatically generate files for you to submit them into Biztalk. In addition, it will track server parameters in a nice graph. It’s configurable through a UI. You can get more information on his blog or on the GotDotNet workspace. Who is Larry Beck? He is a Connected...

Published Fri, Aug 5 2005 1:05 PM by Stephen W. Thomas

Filed under: biztalk, performance, testing

Suspended Message Routing and Reporting in Biztalk Server 2006

Suspended message routing is arguably the greatest and most anticipated new feature in Biztalk 2006. Suspended message routing gives you the ability to subscribe to messages that fail inside the messaging system. Matt Hall going into detail on how to generate Error Reports for Suspended Message Routing and what properties you have available to subscribe to. In addition, the documentation that ships...

Published Tue, Aug 2 2005 9:52 PM by Stephen W. Thomas

Filed under: biztalk 2006, messaging

How To Prepend to the SourceFileName in BizTalk Sample

Biztalk 2004 provides a variety of built in macros for dynamically naming files. A full list of macros can be found in the help guide or here . Recently, I have been looking at SourceFileName. I have posted a sample in the past that covers how to name output files inside your Orchestration using the %SourceFileName% macro. In that sample, I completely override the File.ReceivedFileName property with...

Published Mon, Aug 1 2005 5:35 PM by Stephen W. Thomas

Filed under: biztalk, file name