This section provides information about managing BizTalk applications, including how to deploy, modify, update, and undeploy them. BizTalk applications are new with BizTalk Server 2006. They provide a way to view and manage the items, called "artifacts," that make up a BizTalk business solution. Examples of artifacts are BizTalk assemblies, .NET assemblies, schemas, maps, bindings, and certificates.

You can create a BizTalk application and add artifacts to it. You can then view, package, deploy, and manage the application and its artifacts as a single entity from within the BizTalk Administration console or by using the BTSTask command-line tool.

For background information about BizTalk application deployment and maintenance, see Understanding BizTalk Application Deployment and Management. For step-by-step instructions on deploying a simple application, which will familiarize you with the new application deployment features of BizTalk Server 2006, see Walkthrough: Deploying a Basic BizTalk Application.