Using the BizTalk Server Administration Console

The BizTalk Server Administration Console is a Microsoft Management Console (MMC) that you can use to manage and monitor BizTalk Server, and that you can use to deploy and manage your BizTalk Server applications.

The left side of the BizTalk Server Administration Console, the console tree, consists of folders and subfolders that represent different types of artifacts that you can manage.

When you select a node in the console tree, the details pane on the right side of the Administration Console displays information about the items.

Selecting the BizTalk Server Administration node in the console tree displays the start page, which contains actions you can perform, such as connecting to an existing BizTalk Server group. In addition, the start page includes links to the BizTalk Server documentation and online community Web sites.

For information about using the keyboard shortcuts for the Administration console, see Administration Console Keyboard Shortcuts.

BizTalk Server artifacts

You can manage the following artifacts using the BizTalk Server Administration console:

• BizTalk Group. The BizTalk Group node in the console tree contains additional nodes that represent the artifacts (applications, parties, and platform settings) for that BizTalk group. BizTalk groups are units of organization that usually represent enterprises, departments, hubs, or other business units that require a contained BizTalk Server implementation. A BizTalk group has a one-to-one relationship with a BizTalk Management database. For more information, see Managing Groups.

  When you select the BizTalk Group node in the BizTalk Server Administration console, the BizTalk Server Group Hub page is displayed in the details pane. The BizTalk Server Group Hub page provides an overall view of the health of your BizTalk Server system. For more information, see Using the Group Hub Page.

• Orchestration. An orchestration is designed by using Orchestration Designer and is deployed to the BizTalk group under which it appears in the Administration console. For more information, see Managing Orchestrations.

• Role Links. A role link defines the relationship between roles by defined by the message and port types used in the interactions in both directions. For more information, see Managing Role Links.

• Send port groups. A send port group is a named collection of send ports that you can use to send the same message to multiple destinations in a single configuration. For more information, see Managing Send Ports and Send Port Groups.

• Send ports. A send port is a BizTalk object that sends messages. For more information, see Managing Send Ports and Send Port Groups.

• Receive ports. A receive port is a logical grouping of similar receive locations. For more information, see Managing Receive Ports.

• Receive locations. A receive location is defined as a specific address at which inbound documents arrive combined with a BizTalk Server pipeline that processes the messages received at that address. For more information, see Managing Receive Locations.

• Policies. A policy is a versioned collection of business rules. For more information, see Managing Policies.

• Schemas. A schema is the structure for a message. A schema can contain multiple subschemas. For more information, see Managing Schemas.

• Maps. A map is an XML file that defines the correspondence between the records and fields in one specification and the records and fields in another specification. A map contains an Extensible Stylesheet Language (XSL) stylesheet that is used by BizTalk Server to perform the transformation described in the map. For more information, see Managing Maps.

• Pipelines. A pipeline is a software infrastructure that defines and links one or more processing stages, running them in prescribed order to complete a specific task. Pipelines divide processing into stages, abstractions that describe a category of work. They also determine the sequence in which each category of work is performed. For more information, see Managing Pipelines.

• Resources. A resource is a script, deployed assembly, or other file associated with an application. For more information, see Managing Resources.

• Parties. A party is an entity outside of BizTalk Server that interacts with an orchestration. All of the partners your organization deals with are considered parties, and your organization may have several thousand partners. For more information, see Managing Parties.

• Platform Settings. The Platform Settings node contains subnodes for hosts, host instances, MessageBox databases, and adapters. For more information, see Managing Platform Settings.

  • Hosts. The Hosts node contains all of the in-process and isolated hosts in the BizTalk Server environment. A BizTalk Host is a logical container for items such as adapter handlers, receive locations (including pipelines), and orchestrations. For more information, see Managing BizTalk Hosts and Host Instances.

  • Host Instances. The Host Instances node contains all of the host instances in the current BizTalk Server group. Host instances are processes of the BizTalk Server runtime that execute your application components.

    Using the Host Instances node, you can create new host instances and refresh host instance information. For more information, see Managing BizTalk Hosts and Host Instances.

  • Servers. The Servers node lists all servers that are joined to the BizTalk Server group. These are the computers where BizTalk Server is installed and configured, and where host instances are running. Host instances are created by associating a server with a particular host. For more information, see Managing Servers.

  • Message Boxes. The Message Boxes node contains all MessageBox databases used by the current BizTalk Server group. Using the Message Boxes node, you can create new MessageBox databases and refresh MessageBox database information. The MessageBox database is the basis for work item load balancing across servers that do cooperative processing. A work item can pass through a MessageBox database more than once during its processing life. The name of the MessageBox database cannot exceed 100 characters. For more information, see Managing MessageBox Databases.

  • Adapters. The Adapters node contains subnodes for all of the send and receive adapters configured for the BizTalk Server group and the associated adapter handlers. Adapters are the messaging middleware used to send and receive messages between endpoints. For more information, see Using Adapters.

Tips and tricks

Update settings for multiple hosts and host instances simultaneously

Starting with BizTalk Server 2016, you can select multiple hosts and host instances, and update some of the settings in Settings Dashboard.

Steps:

1. In BizTalk Administration, expand BizTalk group, and expand Platform Settings.
2. Select Hosts. In the hosts list, use the CTRL or SHIFT keys to select multiple hosts simultaneously.
3. Right-click the hosts you selected, and select Settings. Or, select Settings in the Actions pane.
4. In Settings Dashboard, the general and throttling settings can be set, and applied to the multiple hosts you selected.
5. Next, select Host Instances. In the host instances list, use the CTRL or SHIFT keys to select multiple host instances simultaneously. In Settings, the .NET CLR and orchestration throttling settings can be applied to the multiple host instances you selected.

Filter artifacts in your application

Starting with BizTalk Server 2016, you can search for artifacts in your application. For example, you can search for a specific schema or an orchestration in an application.

Steps:

1. In BizTalk Administration, expand BizTalk group, expand Applications, and expand one of your applications that has artifacts. For example, expand the BizTalk EDI Application.

2. Select Schemas. In the schemas list, use the Search box to search for a schema, or filter the schemas displayed. For example, type in x12 in the Search box, and hit Enter. All the schemas with X12 in the name are displayed. Clear your search.

   Next, type in batch in the Search box, and hit Enter. The batch schemas are displayed.

You can use this Search to find or filter any artifacts with your application, including send ports, resources, maps, and so on.

Save multiple suspended messages simultaneously to a file within Group Hub

Starting with BizTalk Server 2016, you can save multiple suspended messages simultaneously to a file.

Steps:

1. In BizTalk Administration, select BizTalk group

2. Select New Query, and in the query, Seach for

   Filed Name: Search For
   Operator: Equals
   Value: Messages

3. Select Run Query. In the query results, use the CTRL or SHIFT keys to select multiple suspended instances simultaneously. Right-click, and select Safe to File.

4. Choose your folder to save the files. When saved, an XML file is created for every message.

Next steps

• Open the BizTalk Server Administration Console

• Using the Group Hub Page