CODEWITHSUNDEEP
biztalkbiztalk-2013
kamal
kamal

Reputation: 35

Integration with third party system using flat file vs Web Service in BizTalk 2013

I have to integrate third party system through BizTalk 2013. The third party providing below two option for integration:

  1. Flat files (File Adapter)

  2. Web Service API (WCF-BasicHttp Adapter)

What is the best way to integrate and what are the pros and cons of these? I am a beginner and want an expert opinion.

Upvotes: 0

Views: 1871

Answers (2)

Vikas Bhardwaj
Vikas Bhardwaj

Reputation: 1510

Consider following factors to decide between Web Service and File Adapter.

  • How much data you want to send and Is it batched or real time? if its batched and data size could be large, consider using File adapter unless third party system has capability to support SOAP with attachments (Mtom)
  • Want to receive a response/acknowledgment of message(s) sent - this you can only achieve using web services
  • Is third party system hosted within network or outside your company network - its easy to call a public web service rather than configuring File adapter
  • Security - you get always better security with web services such as SSL and much more.

Upvotes: 1

Dijkgraaf
Dijkgraaf

Reputation: 11527

It is usually preferable to use a web service over a flat file.

With a web service you can

  1. Retain the order the messages were received in (you cannot guarantee that with the file adapter)
  2. It is more secure (especially if you use HTTPS) rather than having files sitting in a folder.
  3. You can give a synchronous response to the caller, either just a receipt or even the results from the downstream system.

Advantages of the File adapater

  1. If you know a downstream system is going to be off for a while, you can disable the File adapater and stop picking up the incoming files until you are ready to resume processing. If there is a large number you may wish to move some of the files out and submit them in batches to prevent BizTalk throttling.
  2. If you create an archive of files, you can easily re-submit messages when needed.
  3. You can debatch large files into individual messages easily.

So in conclusion, there is no best way, it depends on the capabilities of the system you are integrating with and the nature of the messaging.

Upvotes: 1

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