PRB: BizTalk flat file parser does not scale well when you add more processors to the system (812814)

SYMPTOMS

You may not see a performance improvement when you add more processors to a BizTalk system that processes large flat file documents. However, adding more processors may improve performance when you process the same number of smaller documents.

CAUSE

When Microsoft BizTalk Server receives a flat file, the flat file parser parses the incoming document and creates an XML document by using XML Document Object Model (DOM). The size of the XML document is larger than the size of the input document because all XML tags must be added to the data in flat file format. As the size of the document increases, the system may have to spend more time swapping in and out of disk. Therefore, you may not see a performance improvement when you add processors to a BizTalk system for larger document sizes.

WORKAROUND

To improve performance, add more RAM or add a faster disk instead of adding an additional processor.