Features:

BizTalk Server 2006:

Setup and Migration

• Automatic installation of redistributable components. In BizTalk Server 2006, the BizTalk team will provide a single file that contains the latest version of all redistributable components required by BizTalk Server, eliminating the need for users to search for the components themselves.
• Simplified setup experience for first-time users. BizTalk Server 2006 includes a significantly simpler installation experience for the developer, single-computer user, and the first-time user. Selecting to install the product by using the default setting will allow all of the product's components to be installed under a single account on one computer, with minimal need of user input.
• Flexible setup experience for advanced users. In BizTalk Server 2006, the setup experience has been redesigned to provide greater flexibility to support the advanced user tasked with deploying solutions across large server farm. When installation completes, the custom configurations can be exported and imported to ease the installation of settings across server farms or development build labs.
• Seamless upgrade experience. Upgrading from BizTalk Server 2004 to BizTalk Server 2006 is an in-place upgrade process. When a customer executes the BizTalk Server 2006 setup on a computer where BizTalk Server 2004 is already installed, the setup program will automatically upgrade the installation to BizTalk Server 2006. All solutions built for this earlier version will work unchanged in the new version.
  

Management, Operations, and Deployment

• Introducing the application concept. BizTalk Server 2006 formalizes the concept of a BizTalk application by providing a logical container for housing all the artifacts for a given solution. This allows administrators to work with a complete BizTalk application as a unit, greatly simplifying the management, troubleshooting, and deployment of business processes.
• Application packaging. Using the BizTalk Administration Console, an administrator can package entire applications into .msi files by using Windows Installer. When packaged, installing these applications to one or more servers is as easy as running the .msi file.
• More powerful administration console. In BizTalk Server 2006, all the management functionality is consolidated into the BizTalk Administration Console. Users now have the ability to create artifacts and messaging components by using the console in addition to configuring, deploying, stopping, and starting applications across multiple servers.
• Server health monitoring. Using the BizTalk Administration Console's Group Hub page, an administrator can view at a glance the health of currently running BizTalk applications. Instead of requiring an administrator to search for problems, the Group Hub page uses color-coded indicators to display those problems, allowing the administrators to take a more proactive approach to application monitoring.

Business Activity Monitor (BAM)

• BAM portal. BAM has been enhanced in 2006 to include an out-of-the-box BAM portal that allows an information worker to easily examine and configure BAM information. Using the BAM portal, an information worker can select a particular instance of some business process to monitor and then choose a specific BAM view into the process to get a different perspective on the key performance indicators being monitored.
• BAM alerts. Through integration with SQL Server Notification Services, BizTalk Server 2006 allows BAM information to be delivered as notifications through e-mail or another communication channel to the business user, enabling them to make real-time business decisions based on this information.
• BAM Web service. BAM in BizTalk Server 2006 builds on the existing Web services available in BizTalk Server 2004 and adds new Web service interfaces to expose the query of aggregate and instance data, creation of alerts, and retrieval of BAM configurations. The enhanced Web services interface can be used by custom applications to expose BAM functionalities within their user interface.

Developer Tools Enhancements

• Flat File Wizard. Working with flat files just became a whole lot easier in BizTalk Server 2006 with the introduction of the Flat File Wizard. Unlike in BizTalk Server 2004, where the developer has to create a schema by hand using the Schema Designer if one doesn't already exists, the wizard gives the developer the option of using a flat file instance as the base for creating the schema, allowing the base XSD to be created much quicker and easier.
• Orchestration zooming. In BizTalk 2004, working with complex orchestrations in the Orchestration Designer sometimes requires a lot of scrolling on the design surface to view different parts of the orchestration. In BizTalk Server 2006, the designer has been enhanced to provide the ability to zoom in and out on an orchestration, allowing a developer to view only those parts of an orchestration of current interest.
• POP3 Adapter. BizTalk Server 2004 provides support for sending e-mail through the SMTP adapter; however, no out-of-the-box support is provided for receiving e-mail. With the introduction of the POP3 adapter in BizTalk Server 2006, BizTalk Server now supports receiving e-mail messages and their attachments using version three of the Post Office Protocol (POP3) from any POP3 compliant mail server.
• Windows SharePoint Services Adapter. BizTalk Server 2006 introduces the Windows SharePoint Services Adapter to provide built-in support for accessing and publishing documents stored in Windows SharePoint Services document libraries. Organizations can now link the Office documents and tools familiar to knowledge workers with the enterprise portal systems that run their businesses.
• MQ Series Adapter. For BizTalk Server 2004 the MQSeries adapter was available as a Web download. In BizTalk Server 2006, the MQSeries support comes built-in. With the MQSeries adapter, organizations can use XML-enabled MQSeries investments, making it possible to more securely and reliably integrate disparate applications.

BizTalk Messaging Engine Enhancements

• Recoverable Interchange. In BizTalk, an Interchange can contain two or more messages, such as a batch. In BizTalk Server 2004, a validation error in any message contained in the interchange will result in the entire interchange being suspended. With the introduction of Recoverable Interchange in BizTalk Server 2006, only messages that fail validation are suspended, and the messages can be resumed after the error is corrected.
• Failed message routing. In BizTalk Server 2004, when a message fails within a receive pipeline, the message is suspended and cannot be subscribed to by endpoints. In BizTalk Server 2006, functionality is introduced to allow orchestration and send ports to subscribe to failed messages. When used appropriately, failed message routing can be used for notifying users of failed messages or building rich error handling and message repair capabilities.
• Message resume. In BizTalk Server 2004, message resume is only enabled for the send side but not for the received side. In BizTalk Server 2006, nearly all receive-side messages can now be resumed through the Health and Activity Tracking tool.
• In-order message delivery. In BizTalk Server 2004, end-to-end, in-order processing is accomplished only when using MSMQT as a transport. In BizTalk Server 2006, this capability is expanded to support any send port that uses the same ordering semantics that outbound MSMQT does in BizTalk Server 2004 today.
• Large message transformation. In previous versions of BizTalk Server, mapping of documents always occurred in-memory. While in-memory mapping provides the best performance, it can quickly consume resources when large documents are mapped. In BizTalk Server 2006, large messages will be mapped by the new large message transformation engine, which buffers message data to the file system, keeping the memory consumption flat.

Minimum System Requirements:

Minimum Requirements: 32-Bit Systems

• Processor - Personal computer with an Intel Pentium-compatible CPU that is:
  - 1 gigahertz (GHz) or higher for single processors
  - 900 megahertz (MHz) or higher for double processors
  - 700 MHz or higher for quad-processors
  
• Memory - 1 gigabyte (GB) of RAM
• Hard disk - 6 GB of available hard disk space (including approximately 3 GB for program files and all dependencies in maximum configuration)
  
• Drive - CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive recommended
• Monitor - Super VGA (1024 x 768) or higher-resolution monitor with 256 colors or more

Minimum Requirements: 64-Bit Systems

• Processor - AMD Opteron (AMD64), Intel XEON (EM64T), or compatible 1.7 GHz or higher processor recommended
• Memory - 1 gigabyte (GB) of RAM
• Hard disk - 6 GB of available hard disk space (including approximately 3 GB for program files and all dependencies in maximum configuration)
• Drive - CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive recommended
• Monitor - Super VGA (1024 x 768) or higher-resolution monitor with 256 colors or more

Software Requirements

The minimum software requirements for a complete installation of BizTalk Server 2006 on a single computer include:

• Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1
  
• Microsoft Office Excel 2003 and InfoPath 2003 with Service Pack 2
  
• Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 with Microsoft Visual C# .NET
  
• Microsoft SQL Server 2005 or Microsoft SQL Server 2000 with Service Pack 4
  
• Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services or Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Analysis Services with Service Pack 4
  
• Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Notification Services or Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Notification Services 2.0 with Service Pack 1
  
• Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 2.0 with Service Pack 2
  

The following operating systems can also be used with BizTalk Server 2006:

• Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2
  
• Windows 2000 Server with Service Pack 4 or above
  
• Windows Server 2003 R2
  

Educational Pricing:

* School SELECT pricing is only available to schools (under the LGA agreement)

• Microsoft Home

• Office 2007 Packaging Matrix

• Office Home and Student 2007
• Office Standard 2007
• Office Professional 2007
• Office Professional Plus 2007
• Office Ultimate 2007
• Office Enterprise 2007

• Office 2004 for Mac
• Office 2004 Pro for Mac
• Office 2008 for Mac