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Monitoring Microsoft BizTalk Server

This section describes what's being monitored and the rules for how Nodinite translates this into meaningful monitoring states. Also, many remote commands are available as Actions to help you swiftly manage BizTalk related problems. Actions are further detailed on the Managing BizTalk Server page.

The agent auto-discovers all your deployed BizTalk Server artifacts. Simply deploy new BizTalk Server applications and they will automatically be detected and get monitored and listed within your Monitor Views.

Monitoring Features

  • State Evaluation - Makes sure the BizTalk Server and deployed artifacts have the intended run-time state

    If Nodinite can't check the state of your BizTalk Server, chances are no one else can either

  • Metrics - Provides graphs as both Actions and Widgets with run-time information, for example, throttling (with thresholds for alerts)

  • Statistics - Helps you get insights about what BizTalk Applications fail with suspended messages, month by month

  • Health checks - Helps you keep your environment tidy and in sync. Provides some of the same features as the Terminator Microsoft support tool

  • Automatic Discovery

    • Nodinite Microsoft BizTalk Server agents make use of the Microsoft SDKs and offer you an automatic discovery of your BizTalk Server. Sharing and/or dividing access to any individual BizTalk artifact is very easy from within Nodinite.

State evaluation for BizTalk Server

BizTalkResources
Overview of one BizTalk Server group, also available as a widget on the Dashboard

One artifact (for example one receive location) will be displayed within Nodinite as one Resource. If you have 42 deployed receive locations, then you will have 42 Resources in Nodinite.

  • The Application name is based on the name from any given BizTalk Server Application:
  • All artifacts of a given type belongs to an appropriate category The various monitoring capabilities for the BizTalk Server agent are expressed as Resources and are grouped by Categories. The Categories are unique for each Monitoring Agent.

The following Categories are provided by the BizTalk Monitoring Agent:
BizTalkCategories List of BizTalk Server Categories

The BizTalk Monitoring Agent also supports the execution of Remote Actions on most resources using the Nodinite Web Client tool or by programmatically calling the Web API. To execute remote actions some Prerequisites must be satisfied. The user must be logged on to Nodinite using a Windows Credential. The user must also be assigned a Monitor View with BizTalk Resources where Remote Actions are allowed. See Add or manage Monitor View for more details.

TIP: Users can be fine-tuned regarding assigned access (through the use of Roles and Monitor Views) to selected BizTalk artifacts on just about any level (everything, by selected applications, by selected categories or even individual artifacts)

Table with overview of all monitoring features for BizTalk Server

Category What is evaluated Actions Metrics/Statistics
Active instance(s) Active instances Edit thresholds
Manage Active Instances
-
Application - Too many to list here -
Dehydrated orchestration instance(s) Dehydrated Orchestration Instance(s) Details
Edit thresholds
-
Group - Instance Overview
Group Overview
-
Health Check BizTalk Configuration Overview Details -
Health Check Messages with negative ref count Details -
Health Check Messages without ref count Details -
Health Check Orphaned DTA Service instances Details -
Health Check Run-time configuration comparison Details -
Health Check Suspended instances Details
Health Check Spool count Details
Edit
*
Health Check Throttling Details
Health Check Tracking Data count Details *
Health Check Tracking for Default Pipelines Details -
Host Instance Host instance state Start
Stop
Details
Metrics
Group Overview
Orchestration Orchestrations Start
Stop
Enlist
Unenlist
Tracking
Details
-
Pipeline Pipelines Set default tracking -
Tracking Tracking Receive Ports (One-Way)
Receive Ports (Request/Response)
Send Ports (One-Way)
Send Ports (Solicit/Response)
Orchestrations
Pipelines
-
Retrying Instance(s) Retrying Instance(s) Details
Edit thresholds
-
Ready to run instance(s) Ready to run instance(s) Details
Edit thresholds
-
Receive Locations Receive Ports and Receive Locations Enable
Disable
Tracking
Details
-
Scheduled Instance(s) Scheduled Instance(s) Details
Edit thresholds
-
Send Port Send Port state Start
Stop
Enlist
Unenlist
Tracking
Details
-
Send Port Group Send Port Groups - -
Suspended Instances Not Resumable Manage suspended instances
Suspended instances history *
Terminate all
Edit thresholds
-
Suspended Instances Resumable Manage suspended instances
Suspended instances history *
Terminate all
Edit thresholds
Metrics *

* This feature requires using a Monitoring Database


Alert history for BizTalk Server

During root cause analysis or other purposes, it might be useful to understand how often your BizTalk Server problems happen. If your Monitor View allows it, you can search for historical state changes for the provided time span, either for all your BizTalk Server or individually. This topic is further detailed within the generic instructions on how to Add or manage Monitor View page.

Search Resource history

Search for alert history for all resources in the Monitor View

Alert history for the selected BizTalk artifact

Frequently asked questions

Use the troubleshooting guide to find the FAQ and answers to known problems.


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