Understanding Packaging and Deployment

Parent Previous Next

Eventually you will want to take your newly developed BizTalk application and deploy it to a BizTalk server.  The Deployment Framework for BizTalk allows you to quickly and easily package your BizTalk application and its dependencies into a standard Windows Installer MSI.


Packaging your application into an MSI may be done from Visual Studio or via command-line execution of MSBuild.


In the Deployment Framework for BizTalk, application deployment on a BizTalk server is a two-step process:


  1. Install the application on the BizTalk server or servers (interactive Windows Installer wizard or command-line)
  2. Deploy the application into BizTalk (MSBuild script execution)


You do not need to install the Deployment Framework for BizTalk on your BizTalk server(s) unless you are using the BTDF ESB Resolver.  Everything that is needed at runtime is packaged into your application's MSI.  See Installation requirements.


Once the MSI is installed on the server, it will appear in Add/Remove Programs just like any other application.


The deployment and undeployment processes work virtually the same as on your development machine.  MSBuild executes the steps defined by your project file (.btdfproj), although some steps are modified to be more appropriate for a server environment.  One of the more noticeable changes in the process is the appearance of a graphical wizard before deployment and undeployment.  This gives your server administrators a friendly interface that collects any information needed to carry out the deployment or undeployment.


The deployment and undeployment processes may be executed interactively (manually) or automated through scripts and command-line tools.



Created with the Personal Edition of HelpNDoc: Free help authoring environment