Which features of BizTalk are essential?

I collect information about BizTalk and all its stuff. I'm curious about what are the best practices when developing a new integration project? Should I really use ESB Toolkit (which seems开发者_如何学C to me quite odd and way complex)? Is it really a bad idea to use UDDI services? What components of BizTalk do you really use?

I guess the answer to your question is dependent on the problem(s) you're trying to solve. I've recently finished a project for which I considered using the ESB Toolkit for error handling but eventually decided that the scope of the project wasn't big enough for the extra effort required to setup and learn how to use it!

For me, the most useful "feature" of BizTalk I use is direct-binding in my orchestrations to produce de-coupled orchestrations. But again, thats what I needed for the specific scenario.

BizTalk is a massive product and I would suggest that you use the available functionality only if it solves you problem simply (don't attempt to provide over-engineered solutions!)

By all means investigate all the functionality that interests you; there's a huge store of resource available and lots of helpful individuals here on SO!

There's my pennies worth :)