Windows Azure BizTalk Services February Update is now live!

  • Article

We are pleased to announce that the February update of Windows Azure BizTalk Services is now live!

Customers creating BizTalk Services from the Azure management portal can begin using the new features along with the updated SDK from the Download Center here. Existing customers will see the new functionality light up over the course of next few days as we rollout updates to individual BizTalk Services deployments.

Key features in this update are:-

Support for the EDIFACT protocol

EDIFACT messaging enables customers in Europe, Asia and Australia to build B2B applications on the prevalent messaging format and addresses a top ask for these customers.

We support EDIFACT messaging versions up to D10B natively in the platform. Features such as Batching, Tracking, AS2 with EDIFACT are all supported with today’s update.  For X12 messaging, we’ve added support up to 6030 and Message Type 999 in addition to 997 for acknowledgements.

Simplified setup for on-premises connectivity

For applications that connect between cloud and on-premises systems, we’ve simplified the BizTalk Adapter Services (BAS) on-premises installation to no longer require a SQL Server installation. The BizTalk Adapter configuration data is now stored in the cloud without any additional configuration in SQL express configuration required on-premises.

Improvements for Service Bus integration

This release adds support for pulling messages from Service Bus Queues and Topics, which allows a BizTalk Bridge to pull messages directly from a Service Bus Queue or a Topic without having to write to an intermediary service. The service now also supports Service Bus Shared Access Signatures to configure Service Bus Queues and Topics with Agreements and Bridges in the Azure Portal as well as in Visual Studio.

Backup and Restore Support

Backup operations within BizTalk Services can now be easily configured and managed through the Azure management portal. You can configure a scheduled backup once and keep your peace of mind. Restores can be easily performed to a new service using the Azure Portal.

Operations log support

The WABS service is now integrated with the Azure Operations Logs which enable auditing of management tasks for BizTalk Service along with other services that customers are using.

You can read more about how to get started with the new features in ScottGu’s blog update about the new features that Azure shipped yesterday.

We hope these features will add value to your integration scenarios and enrich your Biztalk Services experience. We plan to update BizTalk Service with more scenarios and features in the coming months. Let us know your feedback through BizTalk Services forums or through user voice.