BizTalk and Adapters

Adapters have become a cornerstone technology in contemporary integration architectures. So much so that environments utilizing adapters are often referred to as “adapter architectures”. The critical requirement fulfilled by most adapters is establishing a translation mechanism that connects disparate environments. Disparity can exist on a data level between repositories, or on a fundamental platform level, where systems are programmed using different development platforms and transport protocols. BizTalk Utilities provides an array of enterprise-level adapters that can be easily installed and configured, virtually providing out-of-the-box integration.

How it Works

As shown in the diagram below,

BizTalk Utilities adapters come in different shapes and sizes, but most include the following primary components:

1.      An Application Integration Component (AIC) responsible for receiving messages from BizTalk Server, translating them into a new format, and then forwarding them to their destinations. Sometimes this component is also capable of enabling two-way communication. Below is a sample screen shot from the SQL Server Command AIC.

2.      A Receive Function that accepts messages or commands from an external source. The receipt of data is generally accomplished by polling a folder or data source. BizTalk Utilities receive functions can be set to poll at intervals that range from seconds to days. Displayed here is a sample dialog screen from the Oracle Receive Function.

3.      A configuration Wizard for each AIC or receive function. These deployment tools greatly simplify the installation and configuration of BizTalk Utilities adapters by stepping you through the implementation process. The screens shown so far have been from configuration Wizards. Below is another, displaying a form from the MQ Series Definition Wizard.

It is also worth noting that most adapters are further supplemented with Import and Output Configuration Wizards that allow for configuration settings to be stored and retrieved from XML documents.

Summary

The family BizTalk Utilities adapters supports integration with a number of different database products and data access technologies, as well as popular messaging middleware.

•  To learn more about BizTalk Utilities database adapters, see BizTalk and Databases.
•  To learn more about BizTalk Utilities messaging adapters, visit BizTalk and Java Messaging.

When choosing an adapter product, nothing is more important than reliability and a feature set that can meet your integration requirements. BizTalk Utilities adapters have gained a reputation for providing solid translation logic and enterprise-level durability. Extending your BizTalk environment has never been easier or safer than with BizTalk Utilities adapters.

To learn more about these and other features, download an evaluation copy of BizTalk Utilities