WCF vs. BizTalk

I would like to see some guidelines of when an integration solution calls for
BizTalk and when WCF should be used. At my company we are starting an
integration project between 3 COTS products all of which expose a fairly rich
set of WebServices. Ultimately I'd like to approach this integration project
by laying down the foundation for future integration, essentially
establishing a SOA approach to enterprise integration. Neither of the COTS
products are .Net, which as I understand it, really shouldn't matter. I've
been told that WCF is the way to go but I'm still trying to get my arms
around just why this is the case. Can anyone provide a comparison of WCF and
BizTalk with regard to how to choose between the two for integration projects
within an Enterprise? Thanks, Eric

Windows Workflow is more closely related to BizTalk than WCF. Use BizTalk
when communicating between applications/platforms and WF for internal
application workflows.

--
Craig Berntson
MCSD, Visual FoxPro MVP
www.craigberntson.com
Salt Lake City Fox User Group
www.slcfox.org
www.foxcentral.net


"Eric Decker" <merquelra@hotmell.com> wrote in message
news:86A54252-5795-44A7-814F-671374AE0A1E@microsoft.com...
>I would like to see some guidelines of when an integration solution calls
>for
> BizTalk and when WCF should be used. At my company we are starting an
> integration project between 3 COTS products all of which expose a fairly
> rich
> set of WebServices. Ultimately I'd like to approach this integration
> project
> by laying down the foundation for future integration, essentially
> establishing a SOA approach to enterprise integration. Neither of the
> COTS
> products are .Net, which as I understand it, really shouldn't matter.
> I've
> been told that WCF is the way to go but I'm still trying to get my arms
> around just why this is the case. Can anyone provide a comparison of WCF
> and
> BizTalk with regard to how to choose between the two for integration
> projects
> within an Enterprise? Thanks, Eric

Hello!
If you think about SOA, I would like to say “what about WCF...�.
I'm a BTS guy... but in my opinion, if you want to use BTS, there are some
options to select BTS. And you also consider the cost...
When to use BTS?
1. Have to integrate with non-MS solutions (most MS solutions have a
technology using XML, or workaround), and non-XML solutions (Actually, when
can't use...XML). Namely, when you need to adopt an adapter technology...,
you should use BTS....
2. When you have to provide IW or DM with some information dealing with
business process monitoring, you should use BAM included BTS...
3. Have to alter the message shape... You should use Mapper included BTS...

As a BTS guy, BTS must be a best solution to settle about lots of
integration problem. However, if you are just concerning about integration
with some solution that can use XML technology and consider a SOA in all
aspects, WCF can be a good solution. WCF is good at designing messages that
can be used to integration. WCF is developed based on SOA technology. Indeed,
I believe that BTS will support WCF, such as the shape of adapter or
internal....

Additionally, I would like to say... In many cases, when you consider SOA,
the real problem is not the solution, which already have many good functions,
but the ability of effective design for integration messages.

Won Jeon
BizTalk Server Consultant


"Craig Berntson" wrote:

> Windows Workflow is more closely related to BizTalk than WCF. Use BizTalk
> when communicating between applications/platforms and WF for internal
> application workflows.
>
> --
> Craig Berntson
> MCSD, Visual FoxPro MVP
> www.craigberntson.com
> Salt Lake City Fox User Group
> www.slcfox.org
> www.foxcentral.net
>
>
> "Eric Decker" <merquelra@hotmell.com> wrote in message
> news:86A54252-5795-44A7-814F-671374AE0A1E@microsoft.com...
> >I would like to see some guidelines of when an integration solution calls
> >for
> > BizTalk and when WCF should be used. At my company we are starting an
> > integration project between 3 COTS products all of which expose a fairly
> > rich
> > set of WebServices. Ultimately I'd like to approach this integration
> > project
> > by laying down the foundation for future integration, essentially
> > establishing a SOA approach to enterprise integration. Neither of the
> > COTS
> > products are .Net, which as I understand it, really shouldn't matter.
> > I've
> > been told that WCF is the way to go but I'm still trying to get my arms
> > around just why this is the case. Can anyone provide a comparison of WCF
> > and
> > BizTalk with regard to how to choose between the two for integration
> > projects
> > within an Enterprise? Thanks, Eric
>
>
>