Microsoft BizTalk

Server
End-to-End
Ewan
Fairweather & Paolo Salvatori
Performance
BizTalk Customer Advisory Team
Testing
Guidance
Microsoft

Session Objectives

Describe how we run BizTalk

performance assessments
Demonstrate tools and techniques
that can be used during a BizTalk
performance assessment
Introduce the BizTalk Server
Performance Optimization Guide

Session Agenda

Assessing application performance

Key learnings
BizTalk Server performance
assessment
Methodology
Tools

Tuning the Microsoft

Platform

Using LogParser To
Generate KPIs For
Your Results

Demo
Example results spreadsheet
from
a recent performance lab

Session Agenda
Assessing application performance
Key learnings
BizTalk Server performance
assessment
Methodology
Tools

Key Learnings
Platform Tuning

Turn off hyperthreading

Adjust Windows Server 2003 for best
performance
Use a separate disk for PAGEFILE
Stop unnecessary services (for
instance, Print Spooler)
Defrag volumes hosting BizTalk dbs

Key Learnings
Platform Tuning

Disable the SynAttackProtect feature

Prevent antivirus scanning
Networking
Adjust TCP/IP parameters in the registry
Use 1-gigabit networks
Separate subnets for Mgmt, Data, and
Messaging
Tune NICs for performance
Memory for packet buffering

Offload processing to NIC if possible

Key Learnings
Platform Tuning CLR Hosting Threads
To prevent thread starvation, BizTalk needs

enough threads allocated to the .NET

thread pool
Controlled by per host reg key

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Ser
vices\BTSSvc$hostname\CLR Hosting
DWORD entry
MaxIOThreads
MaxWorkerThreads
MinIOThreads
MinWorkerThreads

Default Value

Recommended
Value

3 20

4
100

25

100

11
1

2 25
25

Key Learnings
BizTalk Host Configuration
Split up the sending, receiving, processing,

and tracking into multiple hosts

This technique allows each host to:

Have its own set of resources such as memory,

handles, .NET thread pool
Decreases the contention on the MessageBox
Host Queue tables

Avoid running too many host instances on

the same box

Key Learnings
SQL Performance
Isolate BizTalk data and transaction log files
Pre-allocate space to prevent autogrowth at

run time
Create multiple data files of the same size,
one for each available core on the SQL
machine, for the TempDb
Add filegroups and files to the
BizTalkMsgBoxDb
Scale up the SQL Server resources
CPU, disk, memory
Separate BizTalk Databases across servers
Multiple MessageBox databases

Key Learnings
Low Latency
Internal message queue
MaxReceiveInterval parameter

500 ms default

BatchSize parameter
Turn off global tracking
Use inline sends

Key Learnings

Orchestrations (1 of 2)

Eliminate unnecessary persistence points

Minimize the internal state/size
Use the Call Orchestration shape for performance
Asynchronous mechanisms give flexibility but
require a MessageBox round trip
Direct Bound Ports, Self-Correlating Ports and Start
Orchestration shape

Eliminate logical ports and use inline sends

Prefer distinguished field over promoted properties
Turn off unnecessary tracking:
Message send and receive tracking
Begin and end tracking shape

Define a performance counter for each orchestration

type

Key Learnings

Orchestrations (2 of 2)

Avoid using XmlDocument for processing large

messages
The memory amount required to load an
XMLDocument is up to 10 times the actual size of the
message

Instead use one the following techniques:

1
// Use an XmlReader object to read the content of the message part
using (XmlReader reader =(XmlReader)xlangMessage[0].RetrieveAs(typeof(XmlReader)))
{
...
}
// Retrieve the content of the message part as a string
2
using (string message =(XmlReader)xlangMessage[0].RetrieveAs(typeof(string)))
{
...
}
3
// Deserialize the content of the message part to an instance of a custom .NET class
using (RequestClass request =(XmlReader)xlangMessage[0].RetrieveAs(typeof(RequestClass)))
{
...
}

Key Learnings
Pipelines (1 of 2)

Use PassThruReceive and PassThruTransmit

pipelines whenever possible
Avoid loading the entire document into
memory using an XmlDocument object
Use a streaming approach instead

If you need to read the value of specific nodes

inside an XML message part, do not use the
SelectSingleNode method exposed by the
XmlDocument class
Use an instance of the XPathReader class contained
in the Microsoft.BizTalk.XPathReader.dll assembly
Use an instance of XPathMutatorStream class
contained in the Microsoft.BizTalk.Streaming.dll if you
need to read and eventually change the value of one

Key Learnings
Pipelines (2 of 2)

Use an instance of the VirtualStream class

(Microsoft.BizTalk.Streaming.dll) when reading a
large message
Promote items to the message context only if you
need them for:
Message Routing (Orchestrations, Send Ports)
Demotion of message context properties (Send Ports)

Write to the context instead of Promote

Use the IPipelineContext.ResourceTracker to track
and dispose non-CLR resources
Instrument your source code to make your
components simple to debug
Avoid ordered delivery and transaction support

Optimizing BizTalk
Memory Usage

Demo
Streaming techniques that can be
used in pipelines

WCF Adapters

Whenever possible, use one of the following WCF-* Adapters.

WCF-NetTcp Adapter
WCF-Custom Adapter + CustomBinding with the
binaryMessageEncoder and tcpTransport Binding Elements.
Send Side (BizTalk Send Port):
Parameter
tcpTransport->ConnectionPoolSettings>maxOutboundConnectionsPerEndpoint
tcpTransport->maxPendingAccepts
tcpTransport->maxPendingConnections
tcpTransport->listenBacklog

Default

Suggested

try changing to 20

1
10
10

try changing to 20
try changing to 20
try changing to 20

Receive Side (BizTalk Receive Location):

Parameter
tcpTransport->maxPendingAccepts
tcpTransport->maxPendingConnections
tcpTransport->listenBacklog

Default

Suggested

1
10
10

try changing to 20
try changing to 200
try changing to 20

Add the serviceThrottling service behavior to a WCF-Custom

Receive Location and use the following settings:

Parameter

serviceThrottling->maxConcurrentCalls
serviceThrottling->maxConcurrentSessions
serviceThrottling->maxConcurrentInstances

Default

Suggested

16
10
-

try changing to 20
try changing to 20
leave the default

WCF Adapter

Demo
Optimizing WCF for performance

Session Agenda
Assessing application performance
Key learnings
BizTalk Server performance
assessment
Methodology
Tools

BizTalk Server
Performance
Optimization Guide

Announcing
MSDN

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc558617.asp
x

Assessing Application
Performance

The usual story

We all know testing is important for every

solution
Testing is neglected

This is a problem
Solutions using BizTalk tend to be
business critical and tolerate little
downtime
Poor testing increases the risk profile of
your project
This runs the risk of huge technical and

Minimize Project Risk

Unit testing
Effective
Functional testing
testing
Integration testing
reduces your
User acceptance testing project risk
Disaster recovery testing/dry runs
Overload testing
Performance assessment

Session Agenda
Assessing application performance
Key learnings
BizTalk Server performance
assessment
Methodology
Tools

BizTalk Performance
Assessment

An end to end process with a set of

goals
and objectives
Occurs over a set period of time
It requires a team of individuals with
the
right skill sets to
tune the stack
Design & Deliver
Operate
Optimize
Iterative knowledge transfer process

POC
Performance
Assessment

Pre-Live
Performance
Assessment

Post-Live
Performance
Assessment

Scope
Engagement Summary
Determine resource requirements

What scenarios are you testing

What technologies are involved
What adapters are needed
SAN requirements
32 bit vs. 64 bit

Other requirements
Throughput
Latency

Document all information!

Guidelines, Goals, Constraints, etc.

Staff the right people

Scope
Defining Goals
Provide objectives and success criteria for

the lab
Goals should cover

Performance metrics

Throughput, Latency

Roles and Responsibilities

Deliverables
Define any constraints
Is hardware fixed?
Scale up/out BizTalk/SQL
Can third party systems be scaled out?
Web servers, MQ Series, Custom DBs

Scope
Defining Goals (Example)

Objective
Measure the Maximum Sustainable Throughput (MST) for the
given use cases with different hardware configurations.
Test Case 1
Messaging-Only scenario
Throughput : 50 messages/sec sustainable
Latency: response time < 2 sec
for 90% of messages
Test Case 2
Payment service BizTalk orchestration
Throughput : 3.6 million messages within
an 8 hour period (125 messages/second)
Latency : N/A

Scope
Logical and Physical Architecture

Plan
Determining Resource Requirements
Timeline

2 weeks of preparation time

1 week per test case
1 week to document findings

SMEs required
MQSeries, SQL Server,
IIS, SAN Specialist

Hardware request
SAN Storage (HBA, Luns), Networking, Clustering

Lab space
Appropriate space, whiteboard, projector, security of
room

Plan
Sample Timeline
6

4
5

Prepare

Detailed Solution Design

Code complete
Invest in test assets
Build/Deploy
MSBUILD, MSI,
BTSTask, Scripts

Functional test
BizUnit, Visual Studio

Load test
Loadgen, Visual Studio

Building The Lab

Environment
Infrastructure

Installation
and Configuration
RAID10/0+1?

Databases and logs separated

Database autogrowth
Virus scanning software

Third party systems

Non-default values, scale-out options

BizTalk
Host configuration
Message tracking
Adapter configuration

Building The Lab

Environment
Performance monitoring

Deployment
MSBuild, BTSTask, MSI

Functional testing
Validate automated load test
Document Solution
Performance Baseline

Latency
Throughput
Spool depth
etc

Executing the Performance

Lab
Assessment High Level Flow
Run automated test

BizUnit, VSTS, LoadGen

Document results
KPIs, Check after every run

Tuning for performance

One modification at a time
Perform platform
modifications

Session Agenda
Assessing application performance
Key learnings
BizTalk Server performance
assessment
Methodology
Tools

Helpful Tools

BizTalk BPA 1.2

PerfMon
BizTalk LoadGen
BizUnit
Log Man
Relog
Log Parser
PAL
SQLIO
BizTalk Orchestration Profiler

Related Content

MSDN Guidance
Microsoft BizTalk Server Performance Optimization Guide
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc558617.aspx
Microsoft BizTalk Server Operations Guide
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc296643.aspx
BizTalk Server 2006 R2 Hyper-V Guide
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc768518.aspx

BizTalk Customer Advisory Team Site

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/biztalk/dd876758.aspx

Resources

BizTalk Server 2006: Managing a Successful Performance Lab

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa972201.aspx

Scaling Your Solutions

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa561567.aspx

Configuration Parameters that Affect Adapter Performance

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa561380.aspx

Persistence and the Orchestration Engine

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa547090.aspx

Troubleshooting MessageBox Latency Issues

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa561709.aspx

Performance Tips and Tricks

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa560694.aspx

Rule Engine Configuration and Tuning Parameters

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa548008.aspx

Performance Considerations When Using the Rule Engine

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa952929.aspx

Filegroup Resources
BizTalk Server Database Optimization
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb743398.aspx

Understanding Files and Filegroups

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms189563.aspx

How to: Add Data or Log Files to a Database (SQL Server

Management Studio)
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms189253.aspx

How to: Move an Existing Index to a Different Filegroup

(SQL Server Management Studio)
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms175905.aspx

Physical Database Files and Filegroups

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms179316(SQL.90).aspx

Working with tempdb in SQL Server 2005

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/sql/2005/workin
gwithtempdb.mspx

Optimizing Server Performance Using I/O Configuration

Options

MQ Adapter Resources

HOW TO: Set Up and Test the BizTalk Adapter for

MQSeries
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/821489

BizTalk Adapter for WebSphere MQ

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa772116.aspx

Q&A

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