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Using Message Variables to Size the Tracking Database

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In Microsoft BizTalk Server, you can use a number of variables to determine how large the BizTalk Tracking (BizTalkDTADb) database will become over a given period of time. These variables are:

  • Number of pipelines used

  • Number of orchestrations involved

  • Number of events generated

  • Number of message properties tracked

  • Number of additional messages created

  • Estimated number of messages received in the specified timeframe

    While the equation you use to estimate the size of the BizTalk Tracking database is straightforward, you must apply it to each incoming and outgoing message process that uses the BizTalk Server implementation. In other words, you will need to apply this equation for every distinct message scenario and then add up the results to obtain the final estimated database size. In this document we will look at two scenarios. The scenarios are:

  1. Receiving a message, transforming the message, and then sending the resulting message

  2. Receiving a message, running a business process using the message, and then sending the resulting message.

    Both of these scenarios may be present in a BizTalk Server installation, and each scenario generates a different amount of tracking data. The total tracking data generated for the BizTalk Server installation is the sum of all the scenarios.

    The following are some variables used in the equation:

Variable Description
Nserv Number of services (number of pipelines + number of orchestrations)
Events Number of generated message events
Properties Number of message properties tracked
PropSize Size (in bytes) of the promoted property (field)
CMsgs Number of additional messages created per incoming message
Msgs Number of estimated incoming messages in a given time period
MsgSize Message size
MsgNum Number of messages tracked for each incoming message

The equation is as follows:

[((Nserv * 150 bytes) + (Events * 230 bytes) + (Properties * CMsgs*(52 bytes + PropSize))) * Msgs]/1024/1024 = Data size in MB

This equation calculates only the tracking data generated by the messages and does not include the tracking data generated for the Orchestration Debugger. You must apply this formula to each message process to estimate the size of the BizTalk Tracking database.

See Also

Sizing the Tracking Database to Track Message Bodies
Scenario 1: Sizing the Tracking Database for Simple BizTalk Messages
Scenario 2: Sizing the Tracking Database for Messages in Orchestrations
Scenario 4: Sizing the Tracking Database for all Messages
Scenario 3: Sizing the Tracking Database for Messages Sent Out to Distribution Lists