BizTalk Server vs “Dublin”
Ever since PDC ‘08 and the announcement of “Dublin” the world has gone mad with the buzz. But what exactly is “Dublin”, where does it fit in with BizTalk? Does it replace BizTalk?
All these are valid and interesting questions, questions that have been bugging me for some time.
I just stumbled on this MSDN magazine article by Aaron Skonnard from Pluralsight who sums it nicely by saying:
“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”
That kinda sums it up for me …
Must say I am looking forward to learning more about WCF / WF and now of course “Dublin”.
I will however remain a BizTalk specialist as I don’t believe the need for EAI type applications will ever go away … in fact the need continues to grow!