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BizTalk Server: Advanced Questions

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Introduction

This article is a Part 6 of the Interview Questions series.

Note: There are also BizTalk Administrator interview questions by Tord Glad Nordahl.

Questions

It is time for fun!

These questions are for an Advanced level of the BizTalk Developers. I hope you don’t have a single chance to answer these questions, if you don’t have a real life experience in BizTalk Server projects.
Some questions are provocative and stupid. :)

If you have more advanced questions, please, add them.

Advanced level

  • The error in BizTalk usually creates a suspended message. But routing error creates two messages. Why so? How we could utilize this feature?
  • Send ports have an “Ordered delivery” option. How it works for a File adapter, if the File protocol does not have a notion of file order?
  • Send ports have an “Ordered delivery” option but Receive ports do not have it. Why so?
  • You set up an “Ordered delivery” option in a Send Port. What is it special about a Service Instance of this Port?
  • How to force an Orchestration do the ordered delivery? Is there a special “Ordered delivery” option in an Orchestration? If it is not, why?
  • Send ports have the “Priority” options, but Receive ports and Receive Locations do not have them. Why so?
  • How does the Priority feature of the Send Port work?
  • Why the Priority option can be set up only for the Send Port?
  • Send ports have the “Retry” options, but Receive ports and Receive Locations do not have them. Why so?
  • How does the Retry feature of the Send Port work? In what scenarios this feature is helpful, in what scenarios it is dangerous?
  • Send ports have a “Backup Transport” but Receive ports do not have it. Why so?
  • Send ports have a “Filter” but Receive ports do not have it. Why so?
  • Send ports have the “Maps” and “Transport”; Receive ports have “Maps” but “Transport” is associated with Receive Locations. Why so?
  • What is the difference between “Send Port Group – Send Port” relation and “Receive Port – Receive Location” relation?
  • Receive Locations have the Schedule parameters for date and time but Send Ports have the Schedule parameters only time. Why so?
  • Can we create two Send Ports with the same URL? Can we create two Receive Locations with the same URL? Why so?
  • Filter expression for the Send Port is defined at run-time, but Filter expression for the Orchestrations is defined only at design-time. Why so?
  • We created a custom pipeline component. Do we have to place it into the “<BizTalkFolder>\Pipeline Component” or install it to GAC or both?
  • How does an Orchestration make sure the message was sent successfully by one-way Send port? How does it changed for a two-way Send port?
  • What is it the “CodeList Database” property of a Schema? How to use it?
  • What is the “Property Schema Base” property of the Property schema element? It has the values: MessageDataProperyBase, MessageContextPropertyBase, and PartContextPropertyBase. What is the difference between using MessageDataProperyBase and MessageContextPropertyBase?
  • We bind an Orchestration with a Send Port. What does it do regarding to the subscription?
  • We bind an Orchestration with a Receive Port. What does it do regarding to the subscription?
  • How do Filters of the Send Ports and Send Port Groups work together? Say, a Send Port belongs to a Send Port Group. If this Send Port and this Send Port Group have the same Filter expression, does it create two subscriptions and, as a result, two messages are sent to the Send Port?
  • Why do we need a special Property schema for Promoted properties? What is the purpose of this schema? Distinguished properties do not use this kind of schema. Why so?
  • Properties of some BizTalk artifacts have a Tracking option. Right-click menu of some BizTalk artifacts has the “Tracking…” command. Why there is such a difference between artifacts? Why Maps do not have any Tracking options? Why Schemas have only Tracking property? Why Send Port Groups do not have any Tracking options? Why Receive Locations do not have any Tracking options? Why BizTalk Applications do not have any Tracking options?
  • When a BizTalk Assembly is deployed, is it stored in the BizTalk database or is just a reference to it stored there?
  • Why a BizTalk Assembly must be installed into GAC? Why deploying it to BizTalk database is not enough? 
  • Can you describe at least three scenarios where smart Orchestration Engine finds the errors in the messages patterns at design time (while build a BizTalk project)?
  • A Host has an "Authentication Trusted" option. What does it mean? What implication it has to the message processing? How do we have to use it / don't use?
  • Could we create an XLANGMessage in the C#/VB code? Please, provide code.
  • We can use an XmlDocument class as a Message type for receiving the untyped Xml messages in Orchestration. What .NET classes do we have to use for receiving the untyped text or binary messages in Orchestration. Why so?
  • Is the Publish-Subscribe BizTalk Engine API well defined? Where? If not, why so?
  • Does the BizTalk use the strategy “First  received, first processed” or “First received, last processed” of “First received, first processed, first sent” of something else? Why so? 
    Describe scenarios, when this strategy works better, and scenarios, when this strategy works badly.
  • Are Orchestration Instances processed in order? Why so? Describe scenarios.
  • Is it possible to force the Hydration / Dehydration of the Orchestration instances, Messaging instances? How to do this? Why do this?
  • In what scenarios  will  we use the Compensations in Orchestrations? Why so?
  • The Atomic scopes in Orchestrations have a Retry feature. How does it work? Describe scenarios when it is used.
  • Which serializer does the BizTalk use, an XmlSerializer or a DataContractSerializer? What implication has it for the real life scenarios?
  • What transform engine is the BizTalk using, an XslTransform or an XslCompiledTransform? What implication  has it for the real life scenarios?
  • The BizTalk Business Rule Engine uses a Rete engine. In what scenarios this Rete engine is the more efficient / less efficient?
  • Let’s classify the applications as Front-end, Middle-level and Back-end. Where are the best places to use BizTalk? Please, provide scenarios. What are the most important features we have to take in account?
  • What BizTalk features are the differentiators, when we compare the BizTalk Server with other alternatives? What are those alternatives?
  • What is a Heartbeat in the BizTalk? Why is it implemented? Can we change the heartbeat interval? How does this interval influence the processes in the MessageBox? 
  • What is the difference, if any, between the ESB and the Broker conceptions?
  • How to set up a custom name for a dynamic send port?
  • What kind of the dynamic ports are existed? Are there dynamic send  ports? Are there dynamic receive ports? Why is it so?
  • Can we use several promoted property schemas to promote properties of one schema?

See Also

Read suggested related topics:

Another important place to find a huge amount of BizTalk related articles is the TechNet Wiki itself. The best entry point is BizTalkServer Resources on the TechNet Wiki.