BizTalk 2013 R2 known bugs, issues & quirks

Below a list of know bugs, issues, & other quirks* of BizTalk 2013 R2 (mainly CU3) and Visual Studio 2013 (update 4) , but I will update with fixes as the CUs come out or when I know about a new issue, so if you have another one I will add it (and link to it if you have a blog about it) if you let me know.  This in addition to the ones listed by Microsoft on Known Issues in Installation, Configuration, and Deployment

I’ve now posted the below article on a TechNet wiki

* My definitions for classifying these are
Bug: Causes negative impact and no known work around or requires a lot of effort to work around.
Issue: Causes negative impact but has an easy or quick work around.
Missing: A feature that BizTalk doesn’t have that would make our life easier.
Quirk:  Something strange or unusual but does not cause a negative impact so far as known.

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BizTalk 2013 R2 CU2 & BizTalk 2016 – Use XSL Transform

In conclusion (TLDR)

The only reasons to Use XSL Transform is if you are migrating a lot of maps and don’t have the budget or time to check and/or fix the issue in the Scripting Fuctoids.

Reasons not to use XSL Transform

1. You might decrease performance and increase memory usage.
2. You can’t test the maps in Visual Studio as only the compiled version executes as per either the map setting or the registry setting it was compiled under if it is set to undefined.

XSL Transform feature

There is a new feature in BizTalk that was released as part of Cumulative update package 2 for BizTalk Server 2013 R2, it is called Use XSL Transform.  Looking at the list of updated on the CU2 page it is not obvious as it is actually slightly mislabeled as below.

BizTalk 2013 R2 CU2 – Failure has occurred while loading a type

If you are planning on installing CU2 for BizTalk 2013 R2, you may want to delay doing so until the issue highlighted in this blog is resolved.

UPDATE: Microsoft released a new CU2-package with a hotfix for the problem. You can download it at https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3119352

BizTalk Pattern: Translating Reference Data in a Map using Xref

I needed to translate Unit Codes for Purchase Orders going out and Shipping Notices coming in between the codes used by the external partner to the codes used by the client.

After reading BizTalk Pattern: Mapping Reference Data, I decided to give the Xref Reference Data a try