Microsoft BizTalk Server 2009 Performance Optimization Guide

We wrote this guide with BizTalk Server versions 2006 through 2009 in mind. The topics apply to all versions of BizTalk Server from BizTalk Server 2006 through BizTalk Server 2009 unless specifically noted.

Guidance for optimizing performance, based upon hands-on experience of IT professionals who have worked extensively with BizTalk Server. Specifically, this guide includes four main sections:

• Finding and Eliminating Bottlenecks: The Finding and Eliminating Bottlenecks section describes various types of performance bottlenecks as they relate to BizTalk Server solutions and information about how to resolve the bottlenecks.
  
  
• Optimizing Performance: The Optimizing Performance section provides guidance for optimizing performance of a BizTalk Server solution. BizTalk Server performance is closely tied to performance of the platform upon which BizTalk Server is installed. This section provides recommendations for optimizing performance of both BizTalk Server and the BizTalk Server platform.
  
  
• Scaling a Production BizTalk Server Environment: The Scaling a Production BizTalk Server Environment section provides detailed results of BizTalk Server 2009 performance testing completed by the BizTalk product team. These tests focused on scalability and measured the impact of adding BizTalk Server 2009 computers, the impact of adding BizTalk Server MessageBox databases, and the impact of adding both BizTalk Server 2009 computers and BizTalk Server 2009 MessageBox databases to a solution simultaneously.
  
  
  • When increasing the number of BizTalk Server computers in a BizTalk Server group, for these tests only one BizTalk Server MessageBox database was configured for the BizTalk Server group. These tests focused solely on the impact of adding BizTalk Server computers to a BizTalk Server group.
    
    
  • When increasing the number of BizTalk Server MessageBox databases used by the BizTalk Server group. These tests focused solely on the impact of adding BizTalk Server MessageBox databases to a BizTalk Server group.
    
    
  • When increasing the number of both BizTalk Server computers and BizTalk Server MessageBox databases used by the BizTalk Server group. These tests measured the impact of adding both adding BizTalk Server computers and BizTalk Server MessageBox databases to a BizTalk Server group.
    
    
• BizTalk Server Performance Testing Methodology: The BizTalk Server Performance Testing Methodology section provides detailed information about how to test and optimize BizTalk Server performance. It includes information about which performance criteria to focus on and the fundamental phases that should be applied when assessing BizTalk Server performance.
  
  

• Optimizing IIS Performance – Describes various Internet Information Services (IIS) configuration and tuning options that can be applied to improve IIS performance.
  
  
• Monitoring SQL Server Performance – Provides information about specific tools used for SQL Server performance monitoring and tuning.
  
  
• BizTalk Server MessageBox Database Filegroups SQL Script - Provides a SQL script that can be run on the SQL Server instances in a BizTalk Server environment to create multiple files and filegroups for the BizTalk MessageBox databases.
  
  
• Optimizing Business Activity Monitoring (BAM) Performance – Describes best practices for optimizing performance of Business Activity Monitoring (BAM).
  
  
• Optimizing Business Rule Engine (BRE) Performance– Describes best practices for optimizing performance when using the Business Rule Engine (BRE).
  
  
• Optimizing BizTalk Server WCF Adapter Performance - Provides recommendations for selecting the appropriate Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) adapter or binding type and guidance for applying various WCF adapter configuration options.
  
  
• Optimizing Orchestration Performance - Describes best practices for optimizing performance of orchestrations used in BizTalk Server solutions.
  
  
• Optimizing WCF Web Service Performance - Provides general guidance for setting optimal values for WCF Web service configuration parameters to improve performance of WCF services.
  
  
• Optimizing Pipeline Performance - Provides guidelines for optimizing performance of pipelines in a BizTalk Server solution.
  
  
• Optimizing Memory Usage with Streaming - Provides recommendations for using streaming patterns to minimize message memory footprints in orchestrations and pipelines.
  
  
• Message Considerations - Describes performance considerations related to the size, complexity, and distribution profile of messages that are processed in a BizTalk Server environment.
  
  
• Scaling a Production BizTalk Server Environment – Provides information about scaling BizTalk Server. Includes key performance indicators (KPIs) as measured during extensive testing of BizTalk Server 2009 in a Microsoft lab.
  
  
• Unit Testing – Provides information about new unit testing functionality that is available with BizTalk Server 2009.
  
  

We in the BizTalk Server User Education team gratefully acknowledge the outstanding contributions of the following individuals for providing both technical feedback as well as a good deal of content for the BizTalk Server 2009 Performance Optimization Guide:

Authors

• Ewan Fairweather, Microsoft
  
  
• Petr Kratochvil, Microsoft
  
  
• Paolo Salvatori, Microsoft
  
  

Contributors

• Ben Cooper, Microsoft
  
  
• Valery Mizonov, Microsoft
  
  
• Tim Wieman, Microsoft
  
  
• Sarathy Sakshi, Microsoft
  
  
• SeongJoon Kwak, Microsoft
  
  
• Yong Zhang, Ensemble Studios
  
  

Reviewers

• Stephen Kaufman, Microsoft
  
  
• Clint Huffman, Microsoft
  
  
• Rama Ramani, Microsoft
  
  
• Justin Langford (COEO)