Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006 R2 is an update release to BizTalk Server 2006 that includes the following new and updated features that enhance the capabilities of BizTalk Server:

• EDI
  
  Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is one of the most prevalent means by which businesses exchange data electronically. It represents approximately 75 percent of all business-to-business electronic transactions and grows at about 5 to 7 percent per year. EDI usage entails message syntax and standards (including ANSI X12 and UN/EDIFACT), messaging protocols, and transports.
  
  BizTalk Server 2006 R2 processes EDI messages using receive and send pipelines specific to EDI that can parse and serialize EDI messages. EDI and AS/2 perform the following EDI processing in BizTalk Server 2006 R2:
  
  Receive functionality
  
  
  • Parses the EDI interchange, processing batched transaction if configured.
    
    
  • Supports multiple interchanges per inbound file.
    
    
  • Performs HIPAA document splitting if configured.
    
    
  • Validates the message.
    
    
  • Generates the acknowledgment or acknowledgments.
    
    
  • Reassembles the interchange if the batch is to be preserved.
    
    
  Send functionality
  
  
  • Serializes the EDI interchange, generating the envelope based on party settings.
    
    
  • Validates the message to be sent.
    
    
  • Processes a received acknowledgment or acknowledgments to the message.
    
    
  Batching functionality
  
  
  • Accumulates transactions for batching based on party-specific filters.
    
    
  • Creates and validates a batched interchange.
    
    
  • Releases a batched interchange for transmission based on party-specific release criteria.
    
    
  • Provides comprehensive status of in-flight batches through Batch Status reporting.
    
    
  Other functionality
  
  
  • Provides the capability to set processing properties for parties engaging in EDI document exchange.
    
    
  • Provides more than 8,000 schemas supporting X12 (versions 2040 through 5030), EDIFACT (versions D93A through D05B), HIPAA version 4010A1, and EANCOM (versions EAN94, EAN97, EAN02 syntax versions 3 and 4).
    
    
  • Provides a comprehensive status of EDI document exchange transactions through a list of EDI interchanges and their correlated acknowledgments.
    
    
  • Provides the capability to validate schemas and maps, validate instances, and generate instances at design time.
    
    
  • Provides support for migration from BizTalk Server 2006 Base EDI, HIPAA Accelerator 3.0, and HIPAA Accelerator 3.3 through schema and port migration utility.
    
    
• AS/2
  
  Transmitting EDI transactions over the Internet is an increasingly popular alternative to sending and receiving EDI using value-added networks (VANs). Using the Internet for data exchange reduces costs, increases efficiency, and has advantages in terms of redundancy and scalability.
  
  To support this growing trend, BizTalk Server 2006 R2 supports EDIINT AS/2 (Applicability Statement 2). AS/2 is a specification that enables transport of business data over the Internet in a safe and reliable manner. BizTalk Server 2006 R2 uses AS/2-defined methods to send, receive, encrypt, decrypt, compress, decompress, sign, and verify signatures between partners using HTTP over the Internet. BizTalk Server helps ensure the security of messages through the use of encryption keys, digital signatures, certificates, and non-repudiation.
  
  Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006 R2 - EDI and AS/2 perform the following AS/2 processing:
  
  
  • Drummond Group certified solution.
    
    
  • Receive EDIINT AS/2 encoded messages over an HTTP/HTTPS transport.
    
    
  • Send EDIINT AS/2 encoded messages over an HTTP/HTTPS transport using the HTTP POST operation.
    
    
  • Are implemented as a solution supporting multiple payloads, allowing users to send EDI, XML, or other business data securely over the Internet.
    
    
  • Return a message disposition notification (MDN) either in the HTTP response message body (known as a synchronous MDN) or via a new HTTP POST operation to a URL for the original sender (know as an asynchronous MDN).
    
    
  • Provide the capability to set processing properties for parties engaging in AS/2 document transport.
    
    
  • Provide a comprehensive status of AS/2 transmissions through a list of AS/2 messages and their correlated acknowledgments (MDNs).
    
    
  • Allow you to access underlying EDI interchanges when sent via AS/2.
    
    
• Microsoft BizTalk RFID
  
  Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a technology originating in the military that uses tags that emit radio signals, and devices called readers to pick up the signals. Readers then communicate with software to transmit the tag information. RFID is used widely for end-to-end tracking in scenarios such as supply chain, high-value assets, documents, pharmaceuticals, and cattle.
  
  Microsoft BizTalk RFID is designed to provide a scalable, extensible platform to develop, deploy, and manage rich RFID and sensor solutions.Core components include a device abstraction framework and robust set of tools that enable customers to build .NET-based RFID and sensor applications with:
  
  
  • Plug and play services for a rich set of heterogeneous RFID and sensor devices, using the Device Service Provider Interface (DSPI).
    
    
  • Application services for interacting with devices and tag reads for filtering, transformation, and aggregation of events.
    
    
  • Tools to manage devices and design RFID-based business processes (RFID Manager).
    
    
  • Extensibility points (event handlers) to implement standards-based solutions.
    
    
  RFID also provides customers and partners with a rich set of primitives to build end-to-end, real-time solutions that:
  
  
  • Connect to line-of-business (LOB) applications using adapters, as well as execute long-running business workflow (for example, inventory control) via the business to business (B2B) and business process management (BPM) capabilities of BizTalk Server.
    
    
  • Use the aggregations and views of Business Activity Monitoring (BAM) in BizTalk Server to obtain end-to-end process visibility and the analytics of RFID event flow during business process execution.
    
    
  • Use SQL Server for data management and business intelligence.
    
    
  • Create and deploy business rules via the declarative business rules engine (BRE) to execute business decisions based on incoming events.
    
    
  • Use Microsoft Operations Manager to monitor and troubleshoot deployments, thus providing a scalable, fault-tolerant operations environment for RFID solutions that are ready for production.
    
    
  RFID is enterprise-ready with built-in support for 64-bit processors, Microsoft Update, Active Directory, failover, and a demanding performance environment.
  
  Key Benefits
  
  
  • Uniform management and configuration of heterogeneous RFID devices.
    
    
  • Operational simplicity.
    
    
  • Innovative process architecture that decouples design time and deployment-time activities.
    
    
  • Reliable and fast event processing engine that supports using business rules or custom .NET components.
    
    
  • Synchronous and asynchronous communication with RFID devices.
    
    
  • Extensible development platform for creating custom event handlers.
    
    
  • Part of the Windows Server System.
    
    
• WCF Adapter
  
  The BizTalk WCF (Windows Communication Foundation) adapters allow Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006 R2 to communicate with WCF-based applications.
  
  Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006 R2 contains the following WCF adapters and wizards:
  
  
  • WCF-WSHttp adapter: Provides the WS-* standards support over the HTTP transport. This adapter implements the following specifications: WS-Transaction for the transactional interactions between external applications and the MessageBox database, WS-Security for message security and authentication. The transport is HTTP or HTTPS, and message encoding is Text or Message Transmission Optimization Mechanism (MTOM) encoding.
    
    
  • WCF-BasicHttp adapter: Communicates with ASMX-based Web services and clients and other services that conform to the WS-I Basic Profile 1.1. The transport is HTTP or HTTPS, and message encoding is Text or Message Transmission Optimization Mechanism (MTOM) encoding.
    
    
  • WCF-NetTcp adapter: Provides the WS-* standards support over the TCP transport. This adapter provides efficient communication in a WCF-to-WCF environment. It implements the following specifications: WS-Transaction for the transactional interactions between external applications and the MessageBox database, and WS-Security for message security and authentication. The transport is TCP, and message encoding is a binary encoding.
    
    
  • WCF-NetMsmq adapter: Provides support for durable asynchronous messaging by leveraging Microsoft Message Queuing (MSMQ) as a transport, and enables support for loosely coupled applications, failure isolation, load-leveling, and disconnected operations.
    
    
  • WCF-NetNamedPipe adapter: Provides secure communication, and is optimized for on-computer cross-process communication. It uses transport security for transfer security, named pipes for message delivery, and binary message encoding.
    
    
  • WCF-Custom adapter: Enables the use of WCF extensibility features. The adapter allows users to select and configure a WCF binding, behavior, and behavior extensions for the receive location and send port.
    
    
  • WCF-CustomIsolated adapter: Enables the use of WCF extensibility features over the HTTP transport. The adapter allows users to select and configure a WCF binding, behavior, and behavior extensions for the receive location running in an isolated host.
    
    
  • BizTalk WCF Service Publishing Wizard: Used to create and publish BizTalk orchestrations as WCF services, and to publish schemas as WCF services, as well as publishing metadata-only endpoints in IIS.
    
    
  • BizTalk WCF Service Consuming Wizard: Used to generate the BizTalk artifacts, such as orchestrations and types as well as bindings files for send port creation, to consume a WCF service based on the metadata document of the WCF service.
    
    
• BAM interceptor
  
  In BizTalk Server 2006, BAM is a collection of tools, APIs, and services that allow you to manage aggregations, alerts, and profiles. With BAM you can also instrument automated processes to send events to monitor relevant business metrics. Together, these provide end-to-end visibility into a business process.
  
  BAM interceptors extend this same functionality to Windows Workflow Foundation (WF), Windows Communication Framework (WCF), and other runtimes. By using the BAM interceptors, you can track your business processes without recompiling your WF or WCF solution — integration is done through a configuration file.
  
  By using the BAM WF or WCF BAM interceptor in your project, you can:
  
  
  • Use the BAM portal to view information about the business processes running in your WF or WCF application.
    
    
  • Use BAM functionality without adding additional code to your application.
    
    
  • Deploy your solution using familiar BizTalk Server tools and utilities.
    
    
  • Take advantage of your existing BizTalk Server environment for existing and new WF and WCF applications.
    
    
  BAM XLA to support Excel in Office 2007
  
  BAM XLA has been updated to support Microsoft Office Excel 2007. It continues to support Excel 2003.
  
  
• Line-of-business (LOB) adapters
  
  One of the primary design goals of BizTalk Server 2006 is to facilitate the exchange of business documents between trading partners. To help meet this goal, BizTalk Server 2006 R2 includes several LOB adapters that provide connectivity between BizTalk Server and LOB applications using commonly recognized data protocols and document formats.
  
  Windows SharePoint Services adapter supports Windows SharePoint Services 3.0
  
  The supported platforms for this adapter now include Windows SharePoint Services 3.0, while still maintaining support for Windows SharePoint Services 2.0.
  
  
• Enterprise Single Sign-On 4.0
  
  This new version of SSO contains the following features:
  
  
  • Management agent for MIIS: Further simplifies management of credential mappings in the SSO database. Mappings can be created or deleted in SSO using Microsoft Identity Integration Server (MIIS). SSO can also receive password changes from MIIS through this management agent.
    
    
  • Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in: In the Enterprise SSO Administration console, SSO administrators can view status and manage SSO servers remotely using the new MMC snap-in.
    
    
  • Mapping Wizard for Affiliate Applications: Allows SSO administrators to create mappings using a wizard when the external account name is based on the Windows domain account. Additionally, the initial password can also be specified when creating the mapping for a user.
    
    
  • Direct Password Sync from Windows: Enabling this option in an Affiliate Application will allow EntSSO services to sync the password in the SSO database directly. The password change from Windows is received from either Microsoft Password Change Notification Service (PCNS) or MIIS. This is useful, for example, where a Windows domain account to a Windows domain account mapping is created in the SSO database.
    
    
  • Password filtering: For single sign-on and password sync adapter scenarios, if a filter is defined, then the filtered password is returned to the caller or to the password sync adapter. Basic filtering includes options for upper case and lower case, truncation, and removing special characters. Advanced filtering includes options for substituting characters and for the ability to pad a character in the front or end.
    
    
  • Backward compatibility and upgrade: SSO 4.0 can upgrade prior versions of SSO. This is done by upgrading the master secret server, which will also upgrade the SSO database. An upgraded master secret server and SSO database can work with all prior versions of SSO servers.
    
    
  • Active Directory marker: During configuration, SSO registers the service in Active Directory to help keep track of SSO servers available in your environment.
    
    
  • IPv6 support: SSO is supported in an IPv6 environment.
    
    
• Support for Microsoft Update
  
  BizTalk Server 2006 R2 includes support for Microsoft Update, which delivers updates for Microsoft software, including BizTalk Server 2006 R2. For more information, see the Microsoft Update Web site at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=37601.
  
  
• Support for Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
  
  BizTalk Server 2006 R2 supports the use of Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 and SharePoint Server 2007. For more information see Windows SharePoint Services Support in BizTalk Server 2006 R2.
  
  

 See Also

Other Resources

What's New in BizTalk Server 2006