Customer Reviews
The Biztalk SAS Survival Guide.... - By: R. Costall, 03 Jul 2007 
This book is a great SAS survival guide for people working with Biztalk Server...
I'd read as far as page 4, when the first nugget appeared, a problem which we came across in our labs at Microsoft: The way some service providers use namespaces & the problems that causes with Biztalk. If this book is littered with Darren's, & the other authors, findings over the years, then it's worth anybody using Biztalk to pick up this title.
The book has a lot of hints & tips which will help you avoid pitfallls, causing you weeks of agony & frustration, it's a casual read, & even in my initial exploration of Biztalk, brought back memories of a product, which like the great white shark, is misunderstood.
Don't wait, just go and buy the book. - By: Saravana kumar, 26 Jun 2007 There are only very few books where you'll read end-to-end & also multiple times. Professional BizTalk Server 2006 (PBS 20006) is one of those kinds.
I can see the authors have strained themselves to the edges to get the quality. You can say that from the writing style, structure of the content, amount of quality data present in the book. I judge the quality of the chapters with 2 main criteria's:
1. Number of lines I underline,
2. Am I just skipping the pages or actuallly reading it.
Most of the chapter in PBS 2006 satisfies both the points, now my whole book is scribbled alll over the place & it took me longer time to finish the chapters, because I didn't skip the pages, but read it line by line.
If you are or want to be a proper BizTalk developer, don't wait just go & buy the book.
Absolute must have book - By: John Plummer, 06 Jun 2007 This book has information in it that you simply will not find anywhere else. Its written by people who have worked with the product on some of the largest & most important projects where BizTalk has been the platform of choice, & the knowledge that thay pass on is exceptional.
If you are serious about BizTalk then you this book is a must have - By: Jim Allen, 20 May 2007 I have been working with BizTalk Server through versions 2002, 2004 & 2006 & have at times struggled with getting information related to the enterprise application of the product; this book finallly meets alll those needs. It is for anyone who is or wants to work with BizTalk Server & covers everything you need to know about the serious application of BizTalk in critical systems.
From the information about the authors they have a extensive knowledge of "real world" enterprise applications of the product & this shows in the content of the chapters. The book is well structured & laid out; covering things including performance testing, unit testing, administration, low latency, best practices & goes well beyond the basic BizTalk development. I have most of the BizTalk books out there, this is the one I will turn to first!
A must have, the only regret that I have is that it wasn't published a year or two ago!
Get great BizTalk insight from the horse's mouth - By: Jon Fancey, 11 May 2007 The first thing I want to point out (as it's only *just* out) is that I've actuallly read this book - & in its entirety - & I wasn't paid for it. So basicallly, I have no reason to misrepresent it ;-)
In my opinion, there are very few people on the planet in the position of being able to produce a book such as this. The authors are, fortunately, in this practicallly unique position having either worked in the product group or MCS for Microsoft over many years. Essentiallly if these guys don't know, or their friends (see the acknowledgements for a veritable who's who of the BizTalk Product Group) don't know - then I'm not sure anyone does.
Where this book succeeds (and others have failed) is two-fold: it starts where the documentation tails off & is written by a very smalll number of authors who a) have actuallly met & b) reallly are very good. so what you get is something that genuinely *is* written by the right people who know their subject areas inside-out rather than a bunch of guys who had (just) enough spare time (and knowledge) to bash out a chapter each.
Now, for the content. This book starts with a lot of assumptions about knowledge of BizTalk & its dependent technologies (xml, .net, c#, xsd etc, etc) - although Chapter 1 serves as a primer, it's not for newbies. It does however provide enough background to enable intermediates to still be able to read it without constantly referencing other sources. This of course, is a balance of reiteration & convenience. I think it strikes this perfectly as even where documented information is covered, it is explained & exposited further to delve deeper into the hows & whys. For example, dedicated chapters on low latency, testing & scalability set it apart from other books. Make no mistake, this is real world guidance & parts of it will make uncomfortable reading for some - & it's alll the better for it.
BizTalk is a complex product, this book acknowledges & reflects that & if you want a BizTalk book that goes beyond the basics & into hitherto unchartered territory, jump in. Highly recommended.
