25+ BizTalk Server Interview Questions & Answers [BEST & NEW]

Last updated on 04th Jul 2020, Blog, Interview Questions

A Microsoft integration platform called BizTalk Server was created to facilitate data exchange and communication across various applications and software systems inside of a business. Improved efficiency and automated business operations are made possible by this enterprise-level middleware, which offers a centralised and standardised method of connecting disparate systems.BizTalk Server’s critical functionalities include message transformation, workflow orchestration, and support for many communication protocols. Through adapters, it provides a flexible solution for hybrid settings, allowing organisations to combine trading partners, on-premises systems, and cloud services. BizTalk Server, a product by Microsoft, is an enterprise integration server that enables companies to connect diverse systems and automate business processes. It provides a platform for designing, executing, and managing integration solutions within an organization. The server facilitates communication between various software systems, whether they are within the same enterprise or across different organizations.

1. Define Biztalk?

Ans:

BizTalk is the Business Process Management server from a Microsoft. It is the message based integration tool. Biz Talk enables a large enterprises to automate and integrate business processes.

2. What does Components Of Biztalk Server Architecture?

Ans:

Receive Port: Listens for messages.

Adapters: Information interchange with an external systems.

3. How does Transfer Files Without Using Orchestration?

Ans:

• By using the content based routing, files can be transferred.
• By creating a receive port and send port. If send port is configuring, provide condition as BTS.
• Receiveportname=

4. What does Direct Binding In Biztalk Server?

Ans:

Sending messages from one orchestration to the another is done by using the Direct Binding technique. It is also used for sending messages directly into the message box. It is used in the publish and subscribe system in BizTalk for sending messages among orchestrations.

5. What does Distinguished Field In Biztalk Server?

Ans:

A pipe line is used to write the Distinguished Fields in message context when a message is received on port. Dis-assembler pipeline component like XML and flat file disassemble does the job of writing a message context by pipeline. In addition to it, custom pipeline component could be performing it

6. What does Biztalk Business Process Configuration?

Ans:

• Information worker can set the parameters for an orchestration that implements business process, which business analyst may not be able to create.
• Developer creating the orchestration can define parameters for orchestration to enable information workers configure it. An information worker sets those parameters using TPM service by specifying a values in partner’s agreement

7. What does Trading Partner Management In Biztalk?

Ans:

Information workers Manage trading partner relationships within organizations. Business Activity Services include a Trading Partner Management (TPM) component to allow them do those. TPM database stores information about trading relationships. Information workers can create and modify agreements with trading partners who use BizTalk Server.

8. Distinguish Difference Between Biztalk Server And Web Services?

Ans:

	Aspect	BizTalk Server	Web Services
Primary Function	Integration server for connecting and automating systems.	Standardized approach for communication and interoperability
Scope	Provides a platform for enterprise-wide integration	Utilized for communication between different applications and systems
Specialization	Middleware solution with BPM and B2B communication	Language-independent, distributed communication via the internet

9. Explain The Difference Between Routing And Content Routing?

Ans:

• Message routing is the method of passing through the BizTalk without being processed.
• Content routing is a way of sending messages that is based on a certain schema field value.

10. Define Content-based Routing?

Ans:

Content-based routing allows users to route messages based on envelope attributes or receive port configuration properties. Routing can be performed based on the information contained in envelope of the document or even configuration information from receive location.

11. Define Biztalk Server Convoy And Correlation Sets?

Ans:

In BizTalk Server, a convoy represents a set of related messages that need to be processed together to maintain order. Correlation sets are criteria defined to link these messages, ensuring that they are grouped based on shared properties or identifiers. Correlation sets help BizTalk identify and manage related messages within an orchestration, allowing for the coordination of message sequencing and processing, essential for maintaining the integrity of complex business workflows.

12. How does Rules Engine Is Provided In Biztalk Server?

Ans:

Rules engine is provided as a component of business rules management system, which provides the abilities like define, register, classify and manage all rules, verifies consistency of the rules definitions, defining relationships among rules and relates them to IT applications which are effected by the one or more rules.

13. List The Persistence Points?

Ans:

• An Orchestration Instance is suspended or finished
• System shutdowns in the controlled manner
• Engine determines it needs to dehydrate
• An Atomic or long running transactional scope ends

14. Described Persistence Points?

Ans:

• The process of saving running orchestration state at a certain point is called persistence.
• Orchestration engine persist running instance which is based on a design of orchestration

15. Define Biztalk Server Rules Engine?

Ans:

A rules engine is the software system, which is used for executing one or more business rules in the dynamic production environment. The rules might be from a legal regulation, company policies or any other resources.

16. What does Promoted Property In Biztalk Server?

Ans:

The promotion of Prompted Fields/Properties is done in message context by the pipeline called receive pipeline at a time when a message is received on a port. This task is performed by a dis-assembler pipeline component (XML or flat file dis-assembler). The custom pipeline component could also be a performing it.

17. Described The Purpose Of Bam In Biztalk Server?

Ans:

• The Purpose of deriving up-to-date metrics and a key performance indicators from the BAM databases, Business Integration tools are used.
• The forecasting of the process trends by uses and monitoring processes in a real time scenarios is done by using the BI tools. Users get alerts for situations which need intervention for preventing undesirable outcome for encouraging the beneficial results, a mechanism is provided by BAM.

18. What Is Bam In Biztalk Server?

Ans:

A Business data and process milestones are captured by the Business Activity Monitoring(BAM), which is the module in BizTalk . Business decisions makers are allowed by the BAM for gaining insight for in-flight process.

19. How does Use The Message Types?

Ans:

Message types in BizTalk, defined by XML schemas, classify messages for accurate processing, routing, and transformation within orchestrations, ensuring proper handling based on their structured content.

20. How does Change The Message Type?

Ans:

To change the message type in BizTalk, modify the associated XML schema, updating its structure and content. Apply this updated schema to relevant components like ports or orchestrations to ensure proper processing based on the new schema definition.

21. What does Message Type (i.e. Bts.messagetype) In Biztalk Server?

Ans:

Messages in the BizTalk are data, and each message must be of selected message type. E-mail, Documents, Info-path forms, large binary files, SQL records, flat files, and anything XML can be processed as a messages. BizTalk is all about the messages and message-oriented programming. The most common message type in Biz-talk is schema.

22. What Biztalk Enables For Companies?

Ans:

BizTalk enables companies to integrate and manage the business processes by exchanging a business documents between business applications within or across organizational boundaries

23. What does Biztalk Server 2000 Is Based?

Ans:

BizTalk s: Server 2000 is based on BizTalk Framework. It provides an infrastructure and tools to enable B2B eCommerce and process integration.

24. What does Biztalk Provides?

Ans:

BizTalk provides costs savings when used in an internal IT projects and can be used in an externally focused solutions too.

25. Does Biztalk Framework Is Open Framework?

Ans:

The BizTalk Framework is the open framework for B2B exchange, It is implemented across all the major platforms and most major B2B products.

26. What does Biztalk Framework?

Ans:

The BizTalk Framework is a collection of rules for promoting uniform XML adoption to enable the integration of e-commerce and applications. Microsoft is the one that started it, and a wide spectrum of firms are supporting it.

27. Distinguish Between A “message Assignment” Shape And An “expression” Shape?

Ans:

• A “Message Assignment” shape is used to create the new message and assign values to it.
• A Expression shape is used to assign the values to variables and also write ‘if’ conditions.

28. Distinguish difference between Property Schema and Document Schema?

Ans:

A document schema defines the structure and content of the message (like XML format), while a property schema manages metadata and context properties associated with the message, used for routing and orchestrating the message flow within BizTalk Server.

29. What Is The Difference Between Distinguished Field And Promoted Property?

Ans:

Promoted properties can be accessed in an Orchestrations, ports, pipelines, schemas.They Can Use server resources.

Distingished fields are the light weight and can be accessed only in the Orchestrations.

30. What does Correlation In Context Of Biztalk Server?

Ans:

• An Orchestration can have more than a one instance running simultaneously. Even though each of those the multiple instances perform a same action, it does it on different data contained within message.
• Correlation is the process of associating an incoming message with an appropriate instance of an orchestration.

31. How does check what’s going on inside BizTalk Server?

Ans:

The group hub gives user an overview of what is currently going on an inside BizTalk.

32. List Out Some Artifacts Of Biztalk Server?

Ans:

• HAT
• BAM
• Adapter
• Pipeline

33. What does Biztalk Orchestrations Dehydration And Rehydration?

Ans:

Dehydration:

In BizTalk, dehydration saves an orchestration’s state to free up resources, while rehydration reloads the state when the orchestration needs to resume, ensuring it continues from where it stopped.

34. What does Default Mapping For Auto Mapping?

Ans:

The default mapping for Auto Mapping is is mapping by a structure. This can be changed to by a node name in the map properties.

35. What Is Messagetype In Biztalk Server?

Ans:

BizTalk sets the message context property called BTS.MessageType. This is the concatenation of document namespace and Root Node Name in the other words Message Type is a BizTalk System property that is promoted inside the Pipeline. It is made up of a Document Name Space and Root Node Name.

36. Does envelope schema consist of more than one schema type?

Ans:

• XML envelopes serve the two purposes within XML instance messages sent and received by a Microsoft BizTalk Server
• XML envelopes can contain a data that supplements data within the XMLdocuments. This data can be promoted into message context by the XML disassembler to provide the easier access from the variety of BizTalk Server components. For outbound XML instance messages, XML assembler can demote values from message context into envelope for inclusion in instance message transmission.

37. What does difference between static, dynamic and direct binding?

Ans:

• A Static binding specifies a port address
• Dynamic gives the address of port at runtime
• Direct binding sends the messages to messagebox.

38. What does atomic Transaction?

Ans:

It follows the full ACID properties Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation and Durability. If require full ACID properties on data—for example, when data must be isolated from the other transactions—and you must use an atomic transactions exclusively. When atomic transaction fails, all the states are reset as if orchestration instance never entered a scope.

39. What does long running transaction?

Ans:

Long running transaction support the CD properties of ACID. It is not practical to lock the transaction for a long time. This transaction can be run indefinitely and can be dehydrated also.

40. Does BizTalk support synchronous communication?

Ans:

BizTalk Server architecture is an asynchronous for scalability reasons. However, architecture of the BizTalk Messaging Engine enables an exposing a synchronous message exchange pattern on a top of these asynchronous exchanges.

41. What does Virtual Directory? Why does use?

Ans:

The publishing wizard publishes service at the IIS (isolated host) in virtual directory (the directory at which schema reference is given and config file for this). this is also called as a service end where can receive messages.

42. What does execution modes in pipeline Stage?

Ans:

Execution modes in BizTalk pipeline stages define whether all components within a stage run regardless of their outcomes (“All” mode) or if processing stops after the first matching component (“First Match” mode), allowing only one to execute.

43. What does link in a Map?

Ans:

A link provides the fundamental operation of transferring data from an element or attribute in the message of the input instance to an element or attribute in the output instance. Can create links between the records and fields in a source and destination schemas at a design time. This drives creation, at a run time, of output instance message conforming to destination schema from input instance message conforming to a source schema.

44. How does route binary data?

Ans:

To route binary data can use the pass-through pipelines on receive location and send port. BizTalk will route (copy) data from the source (receive location) to the destination (send port). If need to route binary data based on some information in binary data then write a custom Disassembler to promote properties need from incoming message to route binary data.

45. How does call a Non-Serializable .Net helper class inside an Expression Shape?

Ans:

Calling a non-serializable .NET helper class directly within a BizTalk Expression Shape is not possible due to serialization constraints. To address this, create a serializable intermediary or wrapper class that can communicate indirectly with the non-serializable .NET helper, allowing compatibility within the Expression Shape while working around serialization limitations in BizTalk orchestrations.

46. How can an Orchestration in BizTalk achieve FIFO message processing from multiple sources?

Ans:

• Use the Sequential Convoy to process the messages in order they are received into a Message Box.
• Make sure Ordered Delivery is set to be True inside the Orchestration Receive Port.

47. When working with Schemas, Maps, Pipelines, and Orchestrations, how should the projects be structured?

Ans:

• A Schemas and Maps in own project.
• Or Schemas and Maps together in own project.
• Orchestrations in own project.
• Pipelines in own project.

48. What does Persistence Points and what causes them?

Ans:

• Persistence is when a state of a running Orchestration is stored into the SQL.
• It is good enough to know the various shape and actions cause persistence. More specifically, it occurs: end of transactional scope, at send shape, at start Orchestration shape, during dehydration, if system shuts down expectedly or unexpectedly, or business process suspends or ends.

49. What group does user need to belong to in order to submit messages to message box?

Ans:

The user needs to be the member of hot group or an isolated host group (assuming the default installation).

50. What does user rights need to perform most actions in HAT?

Ans:

• BizTalk Server Administrator
• When installing the Biztalk in the multi-server configuration with remote SQL and Analysis

51. Can does flat file message be processed without a pipeline?

Ans:

A Pipeline’s job is to convert the any external format into the XML, be it flat file or EDI or anything else.

52. Can multiple messages be processed or batched without an envelope schema?

Ans:

It is possible to process the multiple messages, without envelope.

53. What does property promotion, why is it required?

Ans:

When the property is Promoted, it is exposed to an orchestration/send port filters etc.

54. In which scenarios, would use “promoted property” vs “distinguished fields”?

Ans:

The rule here is, if dont need the schema element to appear in a send port filters/debugging information then make it distinguished field.

55. What does un-typed messages, how does one create them?

Ans:

A message created in a BizTalk Orchestration is bound to schema, this is the typed message. In un-typed messages, message is bound to System.Xml.XmlDocument instead of schema.

56. How does one enable subscriptions in BizTalk?

Ans:

A filter on a Send Port is the first step to enable the subscriptions in BizTalk.

57. What does difference between a delay shape vs a listen shape?

Ans:

‘Delay’ is quite similar to’sleep’ on the current thread.

To wait for incoming resources with a timeout, a “Listen” form is utilized.

58. When does use Call Orchestration shape vs Start Orchestration shape?

Ans:

A Call Orchestration returns a control back to the caller. A Start Ochestration shape starts an orchestration in non-deterministic way.

59. Does BizTalk Orchestrations support recursion?

Ans:

An Orchestration does NOT support the recursion.

60. What does purpose of the property “Activate” in a Receive shape?

Ans:

It is used to invoke the new instance of Orchestration.

61. Can an orchestration Start without Activatable receive?

Ans:

A Nested Orchestration can be started without the Activatable receive.

62. What does BizTalk Server Architecture and Life Cycle of Message?

Ans:

In this simplified view, a message is received through the receive location defined in the given receive port. This message is processed by a receive location and then published to MessageBox database, the main persistence and routing mechanism for a BizTalk Server.

63. What does BizTalk Application?

Ans:

• Maps
• Pipeline
• Adapters
• Orchestrations

64. What does Hosts and Host Instances?

Ans:

In BizTalk Server, “hosts” serve as logical containers that group related runtime components, while “host instances” are the operational entities within hosts responsible for executing specific BizTalk services. Host instances represent the running processes on the server, managing tasks like message reception, processing, and transmission within the configured host.

65. What does different types of BizTalk Schemas?

Ans:

• XML Schema: Defines the structure and data types of XML messages. It’s the most common type used in BizTalk for message validation and transformation.
• Flat File Schema: Used to parse and generate flat file messages. These schemas handle non-XML message formats, like CSV or positional text files.
• Envelope Schema: Helps enveloping or de-enveloping messages by adding or removing metadata or envelope information.
• Property Schema: Defines context properties used to correlate, filter, and manage messages within BizTalk orchestrations.

66. Is it possible to create a custom data type and use it in a schema?

Ans:

Yes, it’s possible to create a custom data types and it can be used across schema.

67. Can schema have a two nodes with the same name and different datatypes?

Ans:

Yes, as long as they are not in a same scope.

68. Can schema have the multiple root nodes?

Ans:

Yes, schema (XSD) can have the multiple root nodes. If your schema has numerous root nodes, BizTalk will define several message types, one for each root node. Therefore, you must be very specific about the message type you’re going to employ when you need to generate a message.

69.Is it possible to include and import in a single schema?

Ans:

Yes, it is possible, both are ways to utilize an already existing schema. The only condition is schema which is included should have a same Target Namespace or no namespace.

70. What does Receive Ports and Receive Locations?

Ans:

A receive port is the collection of one or more receive locations that define specific entry points into the BizTalk Server. A receive location is configuration of a single endpoint (URL) to receive messages. The location contains the configuration information for both the receive adapter and a receive pipeline. The adapter is responsible for transport and communications part of a receiving a message.

71. What does Send Ports and Send Port Groups?

Ans:

A send port is the combination of send pipeline and a send adapter. A send port group is the collection of send ports and works much like e-mail distribution list. A message sent to a send port group will be sent to all the send ports in that group. The send pipeline is used to prepare message coming from BizTalk Server for transmission to the another service.

72. What does BizTalk MessageBox Database?

Ans:

The heart of the publish/subscribe engine in BizTalk Server is a MessageBox database. The MessageBox is made up of a two components: one or more Microsoft SQL Server databases and Message Agent.

73. What are Difference between an Isolated host and an In-Process host?

Ans:

In BizTalk Server, an isolated host runs its processes as separate, standalone entities outside the BizTalk Server process, providing better security and stability. Isolated hosts execute receive locations and orchestrations in separate processes, ensuring faults in one process don’t affect others. Conversely, an in-process host runs its processes within the BizTalk Server process, sharing the same runtime as the server. While in-process hosts offer improved performance due to reduced overhead, they can potentially affect the server’s stability, as any issues within the host might impact the entire server.

74. What does Receive Pipeline and their stages?

Ans:

Receive pipelines in BizTalk have decoding, disassembling, and validation stages for incoming message handling. Optional stages include resolving parties and enriching message properties, ensuring proper message processing and preparation for further actions within the system.

75. What does Send Pipeline and their stages?

Ans:

The Send Pipeline in BizTalk comprises stages for assembling, serializing, and preparing outgoing messages. These stages include: Pre-assemble (optional), Assemble, Encode, and Transmit. The Pre-assemble stage allows customizing the message before assembly, while the Assemble stage creates the final message from parts. The Encode stage transforms the assembled message into the required transport format, and the Transmit stage handles sending the message.

76. What does Custom Pipeline stages?

Ans:

IBaseComponent: It Defines the properties that provide a basic information about the component.

IPersistPropertyBag: It Works with the IPropertyBag and IErrorlog to define individual property-based persistence mechanism.

IComponentUI: It Defines the methods that enable a pipeline components to be used within Pipeline Designer environment.

IComponent: It is responsible for providing an execution functionality.

77. What does different types of binding modes in BizTalk Server?

Ans:

Binding modes in BizTalk (Static One-Way, Dynamic One-Way, Request-Response) control unidirectional or bidirectional message flow, allowing for fixed links, dynamic routing based on context, or synchronous request-response exchanges between orchestrations or ports.

78. What does types of subscriptions in BizTalk?

Ans:

Activation Subscription – a message when received should create or activate the new instance of the subscriber

Instance Subscription – a message should be routed to already existing instance of a subscriber that is in running state

79. Why does pages to be added to Map Grid if all can be done on single page?

Ans:

Multiple pages enable to organize the links so that any one page does not become too cluttered and confusing. It is very helpful to label the pages and the links.

80. What does Zombie message in BizTalk?

Ans:

Zombie messages in BizTalk are messages that the BizTalk server eats that were “in-flight” when the orchestration stopped after the messages had been sent there from a message box. Here, the “in-flight” message is the kind of message that is directed to a service instance. Therefore, it stays inside the queue of message box intended for service instance.

81. What does Mapper Designer in BizTalk?

Ans:

A Mapper Designer in the BizTalk server is a Microsoft Visual Studio (VS) ecosystem tool that helps to build and edit the maps. These maps are help to change XML messages.

82. How does use Global Variables in map in BizTalk?

Ans:

Yes, can use the global variables within the BizTalk maps. Also, within scripting functoid that stays on top of map, and can build and initialize these global variables.

83. Define Functoids in BizTalk Server?

Ans:

In BizTalk Server, functoids are the tools useful for an implementing various practices to a data through a drag-n-drop interface existing under BizTalk mapping tool. Also, functoids help to execute computations using the fixed formulas and values.

84. What does various functions of BizTalk?

Ans:

BizTalk offers an essential functions such as Process Automation, Communication between the business to business (B2B), BPM (Business Practice Modeling), EAI, and more. Also, it helps more organizations to combine and manage the different business processes by exchanging documents are invoices, purchase orders.

85. Define Trading Partner Management (TPM) in BizTalk?

Ans:

The TPM or Trading Partner Management in the BizTalk Server helps manage and save a business partners’ information and activities. Trading partner relations are generally maintained and managed by an information workers within an entity. Further, TPM database allows them to secure a partner’s trading relations data.

86. What happens when does run MSI package?

Ans:

When run MSI packages, it will register application with the Windows Operating System and then load any related assemblies in a Global Assembly Cache.

87. How to configure multiple pipelines when creating a new BizTalk application?

Ans:

BizTalk System is already referenced in all the new applications, as a result of this can work with the several pipelines as soon as new application is created.

88. What does happens to message when all subscribers have received message?

Ans:

BizTalk will no longer need to hold on message and message will be removed from a BizTalk.

89. When does Error Report properties get promoted?

Ans:

Error Report properties are promoted when a failure occurs in BizTalk message processing. When Failed message routing is enabled and if error occurs at port, then the message will have all regular context properties unprompted and instead have some error-specific context properties promoted – all in ErrorReport Namespace e.g. ErrorReport.ErrorType.

90. Which does first step to enable Subscription?

Ans:

A filter on a send port is the first step to enable the subscriptions in BizTalk.

91. Can Application in start state when host is Offline?

Ans:

Yes. But this application will not the function properly.

92. When don’t filters on a send port apply?

Ans:

If send port is directly bound to orchestration port,then filters do not apply.

93. How does apply maps on send port group?

Ans:

Maps cannot be applied to the Send Port Group.

94. What does Custom Pipeline stages?

Ans:

IBaseComponent: It Defines the properties that provide a basic information about the component.

IPersistPropertyBag: It Works with the IPropertyBag and IErrorlog to define individual property-based persistence mechanism.

IComponentUI: It Defines the methods that enable pipeline components to be used within Pipeline Designer environment.

IComponent: It is responsible for a providing any execution functionality.

95. What does canonical schema?

Ans:

A canonical schema is the design pattern, which is applied within service oriented paradigm, and within BizTalk server context establish loose coupling between systems. Through performing transformation of messages from a one system to canonical schema and from canonical schema to message of another system, systems have no direct relation with the each other

96. What does Advantages of BizTalk Server?

Ans:

• It is basically Integration server. It helps in an Integrating Enterprise Applications at one common point.
• Solutions can be developed really fast with the BizTalk Server. Effort can spent will be less.

97. What does element in schema?

Ans:

An element in schema designates the specific location in the schema where a new elements or attributes can be added. When BizTalk uses schema to process the message containing unknown elements or attributes in a designated location, the schema will still consider a message valid./p>

98. How can an Orchestration in BizTalk achieve FIFO message processing from multiple sources?

Ans:

• Use the Sequential Convoy to process the messages in the order they are received into a Message Box.
• Make sure Ordered Delivery is set to True inside an Orchestration Receive Port.

99. Why does need convoy?

Ans:

When group of correlated messages could potentially be received at a same time, a race condition could occur in which the correlation set in a particular orchestration instance must be initialized by one of the messages before other messages can be correlated to that orchestration instance.

100. Is it possible to override a mapping of Mass copy?

Ans:

It can be done on the line by line basis. Example a field need to be passed the current date, then have Date functoid placed a link to destination field this will override mass copy.