Microsoft KB Archive/821913

= INFO: Considerations for Processing Files That Are Larger than 20 MB by Using BizTalk Server =

Article ID: 821913

Article Last Modified on 5/24/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft BizTalk Server 2002 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft BizTalk Server 2000 Standard Edition

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SUMMARY
The BizTalk Server 2002 online help states the following:

The maximum supported size limit for a document submitted to BizTalk Server is 20 MB. The maximum supported size limit for an interchange submitted to BizTalk Server is 20 MB.

However, this 20-megabyte (MB) limit is not a strictly enforced limit. You can think of this limit as a best practices guideline for the maximum document size for a document that is submitted to BizTalk Server for processing. This 20 MB limit is also a limit for native XML files. Typically, flat files expand to a much larger file size when they are converted to XML for processing by the BizTalk Messaging Engine. If you will be using BizTalk Server to process documents that are larger than 20 MB, review the considerations that are documented in the &quot;More Information&quot; section of this article.



MORE INFORMATION
Most programs are designed to process relatively small files — for example, files that are smaller than 20 MB — instead of large files. Therefore, if you use BizTalk Server to process large files, you may experience problems. To process files, software must have access to many resources, such as RAM, virtual memory, hard disk space, time to process, and read buffer size.

Typically, a computer reads the whole file to RAM, and then processes it. If the file is larger than 20 MB, the computer may experience problems while processing the file because the resources cannot handle the file size. For example, the maximum size of the buffer resources might not be sufficient, there might not be sufficient RAM on the computer to read the file to, or you might run out of hard disk space.

If you receive files that are larger than 20 MB, and if you do not change the file size before you submit the file to BizTalk Server for processing, BizTalk Server might not be able to process the file correctly. If you receive files that are 20 MB or larger, Microsoft recommends that you break the file into smaller pieces, and then submit the smaller pieces to BizTalk Server for processing.

For more information about how to process large files by using BizTalk Server 2002, and how to overcome some of the computer hardware challenges that are posed by large documents, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

Processing Large Files with BizTalk Server 2002

This paper and its accompanying sample show you how to break large documents into smaller pieces, submit them to BizTalk Server for processing, and then reassemble the pieces in their original order by using a custom preprocessor and a custom application integration component (AIC).

If you plan to receive interchanges in XML Unicode format that are larger than 20 MB, and if you do not plan to break the large document into smaller pieces before you submit it to BizTalk Server for processing, it is a good idea to turn off global tracking settings. If you plan to receive ANSI flat-file interchanges that are larger than 7 to 10 MB, and if you do not plan to break the document into smaller pieces before you submit it to BizTalk Server for processing, it is a good idea to turn off tracking of the interchange body and the document body, and turn off document logging in the channel configurations.
 * For more information about how to configure tracking settings for a server group, see &quot;Configure tracking properties for a server group&quot; in BizTalk Server 2002 Help.
 * For more information about channel document logging properties, see &quot;Set document logging properties&quot; in BizTalk Server 2002 Help.

Similarly, if you plan to receive document instances in XML Unicode format that are larger than 20 MB, and if you do not plan to break the large document into smaller pieces before you submit it to BizTalk Server for processing, it is a good idea to turn off document logging settings in BizTalk Messaging Manager. Or, if you plan to receive ANSI flat files that are larger than 7 to 10 MB, it is a good idea to turn off document logging settings in BizTalk Messaging Manager.
 * For more information about how to store copies of specific document instances, see &quot;Set document logging properties&quot; in BizTalk Server 2002 Help.

Keywords: kbinfo KB821913

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