ESB Guidance…part 1

Christmas came early this year...

I first heard of ESB Guidance at the SOA Conference in Redmond.  And even though I attended Marty Wasznickys sessions, it took me a while to fully understand the concept. I mean, just looking at the ESB portal and the Exception Handling Framework, what more could a BizTalk developer ask for...

Marty kept on talking about Intineries, On- and Off Ramps and I, still focusing on the portal, couldn't really grasp it all.

Later, I got home and waited for the November release to be announced. And much like a kid, opening his first present on Christmas, I downloaded the ESB Guidance msi file, and got on with the installation.

This experience reminds me of being seven years old and wishing for a 3000+ pieces model ship for X-mas.  Ripping the paper of the package,  I didn't spear no time taking on the challenge of building the RMS Titanic, much without the help of the guided instructions I might add. Needless to say, the result was a disaster. But what do you know, some 30 years later, I came to learn from this experience.

 You see, as it turns out, double-clicking that installation file was not enough. You have to proceed through a very tedious (but well documented) installation procedure before you get to taste the sweetness of ESB Guidance. Take my advice, be thorough and read the installation instruction carefully. 

That said, -It's totally worth it!