BizTalk Server 2006 R2 and BizTalk Server 2009

I have spent time week and last working on doing bottom-up evaluations of BizTalk Server 2006 R2 and BizTalk Server 2009.

BizTalk Server 2006 R2

• Easily Installs on XP without a VPC
• Installation Procedures on 2003 Server are same as R1
• Compiles, Deploys & Runs "SMW BizTalk" and "Order Master" without new errors
• Provides some minor bug fixes in the UI
• Minor Changes in Admin and Config Tools
• Existing XML formats work for binding
• MSBuild (SDC) Extensions Function Perfectly for R2
• Faster
• WCF Adapters Integrated
• BAM Interceptors Allow WCF and WF services OUTSIDE of BizTalk to participate in BAM
• New Enterprise SSO Services (4.0)

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb743854.aspx

BizTalk Server 2009 BETA

• Installs and Runs in 2003 Advanced Server VPC
• Allows for an In-place upgrade WITH deployed applications (SMW BizTalk)
• Deployed Applications are upgraded
• The production version will (they say) have cluster-upgrade-without-stoppage support
• Integrates with Visual Studio 2008 SP1
• Supports Source Control Features in Visual Studio (SVN/Ankh)
• Some improved UI in development (faster, less bugs)
• Administrator Tools are Improved by not radically different
• Build System does not work right (yet)
• Probably due to missing MSBuild / SDC Support for VS 2008 as the BTS compiler
• Compiles, Deploys & Runs "SMW BizTalk" and "Order Master" without new errors

Cory Trese
ph#:     937-609-9644
e-m:    cory.trese@gmail.com
www:  http://www.corytrese.com/

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California Wedding Photography
http://www.corytrese.com/wedding.html

BizTalk Server 2006 BTSTask An invalid value for property "DestinationFolder".

I was fighting with a BizTalk Server 2006 error with bindings imports. 

 These binding files were being generated by an XML preprocessing system and then loaded into BizTalk 2006 Server using BTSTask.exe

This error is mentioned in a Microsoft BizTalk KB / Hot Fix, http://support.microsoft.com/kb/923733, but that only applies (and only installs) if you have installed a LOB Adapter pack, but we did not have the LOB Adapter pack on this server. 

The error is the exact same, however.  The exception we got during binding import (both in the UI and in the CLI) is:

===================================

 

Failed to update binding information. (mscorlib)

 

===================================

 

Could not validate configuration of Primary Transport of Send Port 'portname' with SSO server.
An invalid value for property "DestinationFolder". (Microsoft.BizTalk.ExplorerOM)

 

------------------------------
For help, click: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=47400&ProdName=Microsoft+BizTalk+Server+2006&ProdVer=3.5.1602.0&EvtSrc=Microsoft.BizTalk.ExplorerOM.Resources&EvtID=IDS_ERR_TRANSPORTINFO_INVALID_TRANSPORT_DATA

 

===================================

 

An invalid value for property "DestinationFolder".

 

------------------------------
Program Location:

 

   at Microsoft.BizTalk.ExplorerOM.IPersistPropertyBag.Load(IPropertyBag propertyBag, Int32 errorLog)
   at Microsoft.BizTalk.ExplorerOM.Helper.ValidateTransportProps(String transportTypeData, String transportAddress, String publicAddress, IProtocolType transportType, Boolean IsTransmit)
   at Microsoft.BizTalk.ExplorerOM.TransportInfo.Microsoft.BizTalk.ExplorerOM.IBaseObject.ValidateObjectData()

The solution for us was to make changes to the content of our bindings file by removing all whilespace and line breaks from the contents of the <Address /> and <PhysicalAddress /> elements.  These line breaks were being added to some bindings files by our XML preprocessor and could not, for some reason, be imported to BizTalk.

The "with SSO Server" junk is actually some type of mask for the real error, which I found out by disassembly BizTalk assemblies and checking out some of the error handling around a bit of unmanaged code that was getting invoked.

--
Cory Trese
e-m:    cory.trese@gmail.com
www:  http://www.corytrese.com/
---
California Wedding Photography
http://www.corytrese.com/wedding.html

WCF, .Net 4.0 and Dublin + A Big Kickin the Teeth for BizTalk users

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/2009.01.net40.aspx

WCF And WF Services In The .NET Framework 4.0 And "Dublin"

And I quote...

What about BizTalk Server?

 

Another common question is how "Dublin" relates to BizTalk Server. In a lot of ways, BizTalk Server inspired many of the features you see in "Dublin" today. Although both technologies provide similar management capabilities, there's a big difference between the two in terms of their focus. "Dublin" adds hosting and management extensions to Windows Server designed specifically for WCF and WF applications, whereas BizTalk Server is focused on application integration with non-Microsoft systems using a variety of different message formats, transports, and mapping techniques.

The primary focus of BizTalk Server has always been and will continue to be integration with non-Microsoft systems (line-of-business applications, legacy systems, RFID devices, and business-to-business protocols). BizTalk Server will remain focused on these core strengths in the years ahead. In general, you'll want to continue using BizTalk Server when you're focused primarily on these types of enterprise application integration (EAI) scenarios.

However, since many WCF and WF apps don't need these kinds of integration capabilities, BizTalk Server can often feel like overkill. This is precisely where "Dublin" fits into the picture—as a simpler alternative that provides similar management capabilities. In the end, "Dublin" will be more cost-effective for these scenarios than BizTalk Server since the "Dublin" extensions will ship as a core part of Windows Server and won't require you to buy integration adapters you don't need. It's likely that a future version of BizTalk Server will build upon the "Dublin" extensions in order to leverage the core management investments being made to Windows Server.

A special thanks to Eileen Rumwell, Mark Berman, Dino Chiesa, Mark Fussell, Ford McKinstry, Marjan Kalantar, Cliff Simpkins, Kent Brown, Kris Horrocks, and Kenny Wolf for their helpful assistance with this article.

SQL Server 2005 Database Diagrams After RESTORE Operation

Sql 2005 Database diagram support objects cannot be installed because this database does not have a valid owner

Problem

After a RESTORE of a database with SQL Server 2005 database diagram creation & access is often disabled, with the following error message.

Database diagram support objects cannot be installed because this database does not have a valid owner. To continue, first use the Files page of the Database Properties dialog box or the ALTER AUTHORIZATION statement to set the database owner to a valid login, then add the database diagram support objects.

Solution

1. Right Click on your database, choose properties
 2. Goto the Options Page
3. In the Dropdown at right labeled "Compatibility Level" choose "SQL Server 2005(90)"
 4. Goto the Files Page
5. Enter "sa" in the owner textbox.
6. Hit OK

Blogs!

Steve is a cool guy and very, very smart.  Read his blog!

http://blogger.forgottenskies.com/

It will make you ... wonder what a "Forgotten Skies" is but you will forget once you see all the software engineering goodness.

Microsoft MVC Beta Upgrade

I was having a lot of problems with

Html.ActionLink("LinkText", "Action", "Controller")

after I upgraded from Microsoft MVC Preview 5 to Microsoft MVC Beta 1.

The error message I got was

Compiler Error Message: CS1928: 'System.Web.Mvc.HtmlHelper' does not contain a definition for 'ActionLink' and the best extension method overload 'System.Web.Mvc.Ajax.AjaxExtensions.ActionLink(System.Web.Mvc.AjaxHelper, string, string, System.Web.Mvc.Ajax.AjaxOptions)' has some invalid arguments

This partially related discussion brought to my attention changes between Preview 5 and Beta.

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/211493/asp-net-mvc-beta-1-where-is-html-renderpartial

I had to add this to my web config instead of what I started with from Preview 5.

            <namespaces>
                <add namespace="System.Web.Mvc"/>
                <add namespace="System.Web.Mvc.Ajax"/>
                <add namespace="System.Web.Mvc.Html"/>
                <add namespace="System.Web.Routing"/>
                <add namespace="System.Linq"/>
                <add namespace="System.Collections.Generic"/>
            </namespaces>

CodeDemon -- Open Source Code Reviews -- Collaborative & Web Based

I have a new CodePlex project!

It is called CodeDemon and is open source.

CodeDemonis a collaborative, web-based code review system that enables online reviews of changes made in Subversion or other revision control. Integration with other SCM and Issue Trackers planned.

Using CodeDemon for your reviews eliminates paper work, ensures that defects, comments and decisions are recorded in an audit-friendly database, and provides a high performance (AJAX) workspace for actually performing code inspections.