In my previous post I asked if I should wait for 2009 or deploy an OTAP environment now. I asked this question also in Linked Groups BizTalk, BizTalk Certified Professional Group, BizTalk Professionals, and BizTalk Server Professionals.
Comments where divers, but clear on whether or not to wait for BizTalk 2009.
Moustafa Refaat:
My opinion is not to wait. BizTalk 2006 R2 is a mature platform and already would deliver what you want except 2008 and some 64 bit functionality. So unless you are dependent on these functionalities to run on 64 bit or you can not run in 32 bit then wait for 2009.
Chris Romp:
I would seriously consider BTS 2009, especially if they’re using Team Foundation Server to implement ALM. Overall, however, it depends on what features they’ll be using, and if any of those have updated in BTS09.
They won’t have to wait very long; I would expect to see BTS09 released likely before they go into production.
Leonid Ganeline:
If these projects should be deployed in this Spring use R2. Otherwise use 2009, never mind it is in Beta. It is a pain to use all old stuff with R2 like VS2005, SQL2005, Windows Server 2003. Make sure you are seriously considering the SOA on the WCF + WF + Dublin base.
Christian Siegers:
I had a similar issue some time ago. Wait or deploy. I choose to deploy the current version because looking at the project of the organization there were no new features being used. So waiting for a new version, but not using the new stuff isn’t a good thing waiting for.
I think it is not a matter of technique but more of what the business wants. If the customer wants the newest version then wait, if the customer wants to start developing use the current version. I
Though decision, but just hear what the customer wants.
Jone Gudmestad:
The main reasons to wait for BizTalk 2009 are:
* Support for Windows Server 2008/SQL Server 2008
* Support for Visual Studio 2008 and MS Build
* Improved BAM RTA on SQL Server 2008
* Support for virtual servers
* New and improved versions of LOB adapters and ESB guidance will follow
The main reasons to go with BizTalk 2006 R2:
* Can start now and then upgrade to BizTalk 2009 later
My guess is that BizTalk 2009 will RTM pretty soon…
Mike Diiori:
It sounds like you are correct in assuming some analysis needs to be done to determine the best course of action. BTS 2009 seems pretty stable, but you never know the true status of the product until the release date is set and the bits are publicly available.
Some other points that I’ve had to consider when making a similar decision:
1.) Does the new system need adapters, accelerators or other functionality that is not available with BTS 2006 R2?
2.) Is the project thoroughly scoped to the point where a go live date can be determined accurately +/- a few weeks to a month? Is the go live date within the next few months or later this year or next?
3.) What does the rest of the organization infrastructure look like? Are they running Windows 2008 servers, Windows 2003, etc? Do they have mandates to follow as far as existing Microsoft support agreements that would cause them to be more forward leaning and more likely to wait for BTS 2009?
Since BTS installations wind up being fairly cost intensive for even the most basic installation, it is best to err on the side of caution and make sure the client’s needs are fully vetted before making any recommendation.
Sandeep Kesiraju:
depends upon when the deployment date needs to be..
I would strongly recommend 2009, just because there are a lot of improvements within BizTalk as well as the supporting SQL Server 2008 features, as well as support for windows server 2008.
if you are starting your development now, it is a good time to start with BizTalk Server 2009.
Patrick Shirley:
My experience has always taught me to wait until new versions are thoroughly beta tested before taking them on….depends how ‘bleeding edge’ you want to be?
If your business requirements are dependant on the timely development of the solution I would progress with 2006 R2….all depends how long you can wait!
As you can see quite some comments after a couple of days. It also showed me that LinkedIn is a great virtual place to ask experts, fellow professionals questions or start discussion as this. Through blogging I noticed that interactivity is far more less. Only got one comment on the post in same amount of time.
Thiago Almeida:
We’re helping at least 2 clients facing the same situation. What helped us decide to go with BizTalk 2009 for one of them is the extra functionality provided by SQL 2008 like reporting services, compression, etc.
The other was a bit easier since the project is estimated to be in production only at the end of the year we decided BT2009 should be used since it will have been a few months since the product RTM’d.
Note that both projects would be "green field" installations of BizTalk…
Not bad to have almost ten valuable answers within five days and things to think about. Thanks everybody for making time to these comments.
Technorati:
BizTalk Server 2009
