I have another copy of my book “Applied Architecture Patterns on the Microsoft Platform” to give away. The book is a $60 value and I will cover the shipping costs to the winner any place in the world as long as the US Postal Service ships there.
| Contest #2 – What is missing in BizTalk Server 2010? What feature, concept, UI update, or tooling would make BizTalk a stronger, more robust, simpler, or easier product to work with? |
As a special bonus, I was able to get the book signed by co-author Richard Seroter. So someday when he becomes Microsoft CEO maybe this will be worth some money :).
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How to Enter: Entries must be received by 11 PM CST Tuesday, December 7th. The winner will be announced a few days later. Of course if you do not win a free copy of the book – the book is available on Amazon.com and PacktPub.com. Looking for more information on our book? Read a sample chapter online Chapter 12 Debatching Bulk Data or watch The Story Behind The Book on YouTube. |
Congratulations to Rohit Sharma who won the Best Pattern Contest a few weeks ago!
Best of luck!
I would like to see following features
1. Low-latancy messaging
2. Support for Windows Workflow
3. Support for TRADACOM messages
4. Web based administration console
5. Graphical application modeling/development/deployment/management
What is missing in BizTalk 2010?
– An easy way to view and more importantly to create subscriptions for messaging-only scenarios.
– In the mapper, the ability to combine multiple functoids into an aggregate functoid, that may be reused at least in the same map.
In my opinion I miss these things in BizTalk
1- More ootb pipeline components like for File Cryptography, Zip/Unzip.
2- Integration with Active directory (cmon its MS technology have some adapter for it). I had to write my own code in a C# helper in one of my projects.
3- ESB toolkit is not part of BizTalk but its configuration installation and the documentation should be improved.
4- Have a deployment framework like BTDF on codeplex it is better than MS build.
5- I was hoping this in BTS and VS 2010 but didn’t happen. Why do we still need HAT for orchestration debugging, why not have the same functionality in VS? Is there any technical limitation or some other reason. I am unale to figure that out.
6- We still have some multiple schema found for one message. Please can’t the deployment fail while deploying the BizTalk solution. Can’t there be an error of deployment that there is already a schema deployed with the same targetnamespace#root? I am sure if there are multiple schemas deployed BizTalk gives routing failures for that message.
Via email…. from P. Simons
“My idea is making the mapping of multiple schemas easier. For instance, if you want to map schema A and schema B to schema C in a no-orchestration scenario you would have to create an orchestration to create a map containing multiple schemas as input.
A feature in the BizTalk mapper to select multiple schemas as input or output would make things a lot easier.”
A new Trace shape in the orchestration designer toolbox.
The shape should allow to select any of the current messages, variables, or orchestration parameters existing in the Orchestration View, get the schema or class that belongs to it and select any property available or, in case of schemas any element or attribute using some interface like the one used by the “Show Promotions” in the Schema Designer or an interface like the Tracking Profile Editor.
Then throw the values (or string representation of an XML data type/class or message from an schema) to the console like the way it does it by using System.Diagnostics.Trace and also including this into the Orchestration Debugger window you get from the HAT.
This will save some time instead of typing all the lines of code you need to do the system.diagnostics.trace avoiding typos. Then you can enable or disable all these specific shapes contained in a orchetration by adding a check box in the properties of the deployed orchestrations, so in a production environment you can go to the orchestration properties, check the box and launch HAT or DebugView.
What I can think of most (out of many many things that can be improved) is the BAM portal. The thing exisits since BTS 2006, nothing changed in BTS 2010. BAM is an excellent feature of BizTalk, it will have more value particularly meaniningful to business user/executives. Of several projects, we did great implementation of BAM, but has a hard sale to the business team. If only the BAM portal can be highly customized, or sit on the top of SharePoint…
I would like a change to the mapper that enables us to create filters on links instead of only being able to use logical functoids.
Being able to create the xslt code bellow would be a great improvement. Not only in readability but also performancewise.
or
The idea would be to enable us to fill the filer infront of the element
1) Add a Filer property to all links
2) If the filter in not used then the elemnt is linked as normal
3) If a filer is filled in then a filter expression is appended to the element
If i add the value @type=’b’ in the filer i get the xslt bellow
if the link is to a another functoid then the variable created would look like.
If MS wants they can even give us intelisense as the mapper knows where we are in the structure.
Ability to debugging maps would be very helpful
I Would like to See following features :
1- GUI in admin console to tune BizTalk Message Box Parameters
2- GUI similar to SQL Management studio to gather performance stats report for BizTalk Hosts/SQL Databases.
3-Web Based Fast Admin Console,tool.
4- Debugging Options should be easy
5- Standard Application Logging/Caching framework
6-Messaging Patterns should be available in Visual Studio while creating a BizTalk Project
7-There should be standard templates available to add performance counters in PUB/SUB projects.
8-There should be GUI tools available on BAM Infrastructure.
9-BAM Portal should be modified to display larger volume of data using custom data grids. Currently available reports are not very fast.
It’s really hard to purpose a good idea after all that were said before.
Like other, I will think that it could be a good thing to have
1 – the ability to regroup a set of functoid to create a new one
2 – For the UI, a real UI(like in VS) when we want to custom the pipeline’s parameters in the admin console like the tool Per-Instance Pipeline Viewer (http://www.masteringbiztalk.com/blogs/jon/PermaLink,guid,2f6500ae-d832-495f-92a3-f7032ef317ca.aspx) which is not updated since BizTalk 2006 (but usefull)
3 – We can create custom adpater,custom Pipeline,custom functoid but why can’t we create custom shape in an orchestration ? I know there is expression shape but it could be usefull to create custom shape for tracing or other event with parameter (we use lot of log code in expression shape and I would like to use a custom shape, as we can find in WF 4)
4 – Ability to debug Orchestration in VS.
Maybe the 3 is my prefered
1. A posibility to assign a party to a receive location (or receive port) as it is possible at the sendports.
Reposting with Biztalkgurus ID.
I would like to see the below.
1. Issues with ReDeployment resolved – for ex : If I want to redeploy a common schem project , I will have to undeploy all the referencing projects as well.This is a limitation in BizTalk (due to the fact that the assembly informations are stored in DB).But in.NET this is not an issue.
2. Merging ESB into BizTalk.
3. Application Level BTSNTSvc config.Instead of global one.
4. BAM activity definition through VS .Removal of TPE/BAM excel & new artefacts should be included in Visual Studio to do the BAM.
5. More advanced functoids to handle complex mapping scenario.More new functiods to support better looping of records.
6. Default pipeline components for various encryption/decryption.
7. Better deployment Framework ,like codeplex Build Generator,with simple BizTalk specific MSBuild Tasks.
8. Better Schema definitions for CRM Adapter.
9. New API for using streaming concept inside BizTalk.
Via Email:
What I have always missed in BizTalk is a true orchestration debugger. So a debugger that can be used at design time within Visual Studio. I have also worked with Tibco BusinessWorks which can be compared to BizTalk. BusinessWorks has that debugger and it is a real time saver.
Via Email:
Replacing Orchestration Engine with WF 4.0 and WF 4.0 support different types of port same as Current BizTalk orchestration
More comprehensive documentation for Large BizTalk deployment
Improve Business rules engine to automatically pick up the new rule version (not sure it is currently implemented, but I had to do it manually).
Improve the deployment guide for BizTalk LOB adapters, perquisites download (oracle client etc.)
Here are My recommendations
1. Ability to edit Filter conditions for Orchestration from an administration console and not through code change
2. Replace the current Message Flow viewer, atleast change those ICONS which is supposed to say in and out which has a very minute difference nobody can distinguish. Better Graphical representation of Message Tracking.
3. Ability for BAM to track inside loops
4. Message level Throttling and not Host level
5. Priority based routing .
6. True Ordered Delivery
7. Remove the Dependency of Database for Code Deployment. Be like the rest where you should be able to deploy code to the GAC directly and seperate binding and administration completely from it. This would make deployments a breeze.
8. Ability View subscriptions graphically
9. De-link the Registry from Application server so that it can be more portable to other servers and would help scalability and DR a breeze
what was the result ?
Oh sorry %u2013 I%u2019ll get the winner announced in a blog post soon. Four of us MVP%u2019s reviewed the entries and it was a very hard decision. The winner we picked was siffnn from the UK. Thanks to everyone who entered!
I just wanted to thank all the entries into the %u201c What is missing in BizTalk 2010 Contest %u201d. It
1. Biztalk Mapper
+ Highlight the clicked links (including source, target fields & all sub branches involved)
+ Arrange links automatically (when 1000 fields are mapped, i dont feel like opening mapper. tab seperation is only little helpful)
+ ‘Model Dialog’ based script funtoids’ properties should be changed to modless dialog or editer based where one should be able to navigate all functoids’ properties by tabbing to next. Also, show scripts, inputs & properties all in one dialog.
+ custom functoid sctipts must be allowed to be saved as a regular file as a part of the project, so that it can be reused/debuged.
+ xslt based mapper has so many limitations. should support pre-map, post-map triggers such that data can be modified using c#
2. Orchestraction
+ New shape (or cutom shape) to log trace/debug messages, that should be controlled in runtime
3. General
+ Shared memory/caching, that should be accessed from any artifacts accross all instances
4. Biztalk Administrator
+ ‘Restart due’ (!) icon at the top; any configuration changes, that require restart must flash this icon!
+ must create an end to end block diagram based on the application/port configurations.
+ At the moment, Too many properties’ dialogs, too many double clicks:- need a firefox style ‘about:config’ where all configurations should shown in one screen with searchable option. We need one for the entire operation system!
I just wanted to thank all the entries into the %u201c What is missing in BizTalk 2010 Contest %u201d. It
Code-First Orchestration Development
Bring back the vision orchestrated designer
Well I can consider most (out of numerous countless things that could be enhanced) is the BAM portal. The thing exisits forasmuch as BTS 2006, nothing updated in BTS 2010. BAM is a fabulous feature of BizTalk, it will have more esteem especially meaniningful to business user/executives. Of numerous projects, we did essential implementation of BAM, be that as it may has a hard bargain to the business crew. Provided that just the BAM portal might be profoundly tweaked, or sit on the top of SharePoint…