Details for Version 2.0 of the BizTalk ESB Toolkit

Details were announced last week at TechEd (in Ofer Ashkenazi’s session and in mine) about the next version of Microsoft’s ESB Toolkit. Here’s a summary:

Name change

Yes, that’s not a typo, the “ESB Guidance 2.0” is now the “BizTalk ESB Toolkit 2.0”. This is just one of several changes, and was made to better reflect some of the points below. When released, it will be available for download from MSDN (not Codeplex).

Availability

Release-to-Web is expected to happen around mid-June. In the interim, CTP 2 (Jan 2009) is available at Codeplex, as it has been for months now. No CTPs or other releases are planned prior to the release-to-Web.

Cost

The ESB Toolkit is built on top of BizTalk Server 2009, and is free BizTalk licensees.

Community

Discussions will also be migrating from Codeplex to a public discussion forum at MSDN. Microsoft employees will also be monitoring the forums and will be helping answer questions.

Major Enhancements in Version 2.0

· Built on BizTalk Server 2009

· Provides greatly enhanced tooling, on top of an optimized core (includes a killer itinerary design tool)

· Supports UDDI 3.0

· Provides even more extensibility points

· Provides even more prescriptive guidance about enterprise integration patterns

· Streamlined installation experience (Powershell, configuration tool, etc). For those of you who had issues with installation, you’ll be pleased to hear I did an almost complete install last week (without following any docs), in about 15 minutes.

My opinion on this is that it is a natural evolution. The ESB Toolkit adds a LOT of value for customers adopting SOA technologies, implementing bus-based solutions, and using BizTalk as an integration platform. The transition to a more supported model in a natural step as the capabilities of the offering expand, and maturity sets in.

I’ve had the pleasure of working closely with the Patterns and Practices team that are responsible for this effort, and under Dmitri Ossipov’s leadership have really done a great job turning this into a product-quality set of components that a LOT of BizTalk shops will find very compelling and useful.

As soon as I can, I’ll be posting more information and videos here. This journey started a long time ago, and it just keeps on getting better!