Dynamics AX: Freaky Tech Friday - The Abyss Of Integration

Last week, we dared to enter into Freaky Tech Friday - It came from another Platform. This hellish post, covered the dark path of how other-worldy platform technologies could be used in a solution-stien way of creating offering that only igor could love. As part of that walk on the wild side, in which we highlighted the use of the ghoulish way in which services could be hosted as part of AX 2012 on IIS, for consumption not just be internet external consumers, but also by other technologies that could not consume net.tcp based service binding.

I warned you all, that if you dared to come back, we would move forward in our dark quest of knowledge and enter in to the abyss of integration. This is a place, truly of no return. Well maybe there are some returns, specifically deep and dark returns on investment actually.

The abyss of integration is covered with a cesspool of options, in which one would not dare use for enabling connections with AX 2012. I say not dare use, in that well, you actually might find neat and should use, when the time is right and the integration needs call for it. For those that want to brave this dark path, I have three area's to highlight for you.

First lest talk about Asynchronous integration needs. This requirement can sometimes real it's ugly head, and how do you defeat such a monster? Well You can employee several tools, other than just holy water, including BizTalk and the use of Message Queuing with AX 2012.

First lets start with BizTalk, which in it's devilish acts, can help enable both Synchronous and Asynchronous in nature integration's. The best place to start for this area, is the blessings found in the following white paper: Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 White Paper: Using Microsoft BizTalk Server 2010 to Exchange Documents with Microsoft Dynamics AX. Without this guide, you will become yet another lost soul, on the road to the center of the abyss, never to be seen or heard from again.

This white paper will cover topics that include Enterprise Application Integration, Business to Business Integration as well as Application to Application integration concepts. The target audience should not be faint of heart, and should have knowledge about developing and administrating BizTalk, from a past life.

Others have braved this part of the abyss before, so thankfully there is a way forward, even beyond the whitepaper itself. The following is a good little post about catching faults from AX WCF Services, that might can help you live through the night, and survive long enough to face more of the abyss of integration.: Catching Faults from Dynamics AX 2012 WCF services

Moving own, and if you're still part of the living, then we can dare to look into the sea of nothingness, which is flat in the middle of this abyss we now call home. I refer to Message Queuing with AX 2012. Another holy script exists for this part of the journey as well, which can be found at the following location. Deploy Message Queuing for AIF [AX 2012]

A passage from this light in a dark place of Queuing:
"The MSMQ adapter for Microsoft Message Queuing is included with Microsoft Dynamics AX.

To send documents by using Message Queuing, you must install it on a computer on the network and create at least one public queue.

To receive documents by using Message Queuing, you must install Message Queuing and create at least one queue on a computer that has Application Object Server (AOS) installed, and that has been configured to run Application Integration Framework (AIF) batch jobs."

Well Ghosts and Ghouls, that's all for this freak feast. I'm glad to see you've survived this brief tour of the abyss of integration. Scare you next week, when we review Attack of the Zombie Processes! Scare you next time.