Microsoft BizTalk Server Logging Agent

Replace BizTalk BAM with reliable, long-term message tracking that scales with your enterprise. Nodinite BizTalk Server Logging Agent captures tracked events, payloads, and context properties from BizTalkDTADb—plug and play, no pipeline components, no vendor lock-in, no BizTalk restarts required.

Why Teams Choose This Agent

BizTalk tracking databases fill up fast, BAM is fragile and complex, and business users need to search messages by order numbers or customer IDs—not just timestamps. Traditional BizTalk tracking creates operational pain:

• BAM Fragility – BAM deployments fail cryptically, BAM archiving breaks without warning, DTA Purge jobs fail when BAM views lock tables—causing BizTalkDTADb bloat and throttling
• No Business Search – Native BizTalk tracking searches by Service Instance ID or timestamp—business users can't find messages by Order Number, Customer ID, Invoice Number, or other business identifiers
• Short-Term Retention – BizTalkDTADb purges tracked messages after 7-30 days (to prevent database growth)—but compliance requires 90 days, 1 year, or 7 years of message history
• Vendor Lock-In – Messages tracked in BizTalk format can't be searched or analyzed after migrating to Logic Apps, MuleSoft, or other platforms—data trapped in BizTalk-specific schema
• Pipeline Component Complexity – Custom logging requires deploying pipeline components, restarting hosts, managing GAC deployments, versioning nightmares
• No Self-Service for Business Users – Granting access to BizTalk Admin Console or SQL queries to non-technical users exposes system configuration and security risks

The Nodinite BizTalk Server Logging Agent solves this by providing reliable BAM replacement, business-searchable message tracking, and long-term archiving—with zero changes to BizTalk deployments:

✅ Replace BAM completely – No BAM definitions, no BAM archiving, no BAM-related DTA Purge failures—just reliable tracking that works
✅ Plug and play—nothing to deploy – No pipeline components, no orchestration changes, no GAC deployments, no host restarts—configure and go
✅ Search by business data – Find messages by Order Number, Customer ID, Invoice Number—any data from payload or context properties
✅ Long-term archive without DTA bloat – Store tracked messages for years (not days) while keeping BizTalkDTADb small and fast
✅ Multi-BizTalk Group support – Log from old Prod and new Prod, DEV/TEST/PROD, acquired companies—all with one Nodinite license
✅ No vendor lock-in – Export messages to any system, migrate to Logic Apps/MuleSoft without losing history
✅ Automatic synchronization – Survives reboots, network outages, BizTalk updates—automatically catches up when connectivity restored

Note

Nodinite BizTalk Server Logging Agent is compatible with BizTalk Server 2006 through 2020—all editions (Enterprise, Standard, Developer, Trial).

How It Works

The Nodinite BizTalk Server Logging Agent is a built-in component of the Logging Service that copies tracked events and messages from BizTalkDTADb (BizTalk Tracking Database) into Nodinite Log Databases—providing long-term storage, business-searchable indexing, and advanced analytics.

Complete BizTalk logging architecture: BizTalk ports/orchestrations (tracking enabled) write to BizTalkDTADb → Nodinite Logging Agent copies events → Indexed in Log Databases → Available for search, monitoring, and BPM. Use Tracking Management feature to bulk configure tracking settings.

What gets logged:

• Events – All tracked Service Instances (Receive Port, Send Port, Orchestration) where tracking is enabled
• Message Payloads – Full message body (XML, JSON, flat file, binary) when "Message Body" tracking is enabled
• Context Properties – BizTalk promoted and written context properties (BTS.MessageType, BTS.Operation, custom properties)

Important

BizTalk tracking must be enabled for logging to work. Events are only logged if tracking is enabled on the Port or Orchestration AND either "Message Body" or "Message Properties" (or both) tracking options are selected.

Need to enable tracking on many ports? Use Nodinite's Tracking Management feature to bulk update tracking settings across all BizTalk ports and orchestrations—no need to log into BizTalk Admin Console.

Tip

You can also log BizTalk messages using Log Pipeline Components for Nodinite—useful for logging messages from pipelines before they reach BizTalk tracking (e.g., for invalid messages that fail before tracking).

Key Capabilities

• Search by Business Data – Find messages by Order Number, Customer ID, Invoice Number using Search Fields—not just Service Instance GUID. Multi-field search, wildcards, and range queries supported.
• Long-Term Archive – Store tracked messages for years while keeping BizTalkDTADb small and fast using Log Databases. Configure retention (90 days to 7+ years) based on compliance requirements.
• Automatic Synchronization – Survives reboots, network outages, and SQL Server maintenance. Agent automatically catches up when connectivity restored—zero data loss, original timestamps preserved.
• Multi-BizTalk Group Support – Log from multiple environments (DEV/TEST/PROD, old + new prod, acquired companies) with one Nodinite license. Unified search across all environments.
• Replace BAM – Eliminate BAM definitions, BAM archiving jobs, and BAM-related DTA Purge failures. Just enable BizTalk tracking—Nodinite does the rest. See BAM Replacement for detailed comparison.
• Self-Service Access – Grant business users secure message search via role-based Log Views—no BizTalk Console access needed. Full audit trails track who searched what and when.
• Advanced Monitoring – Non-Events Monitoring alerts when expected messages don't arrive. BPM correlates end-to-end processes across BizTalk and external systems (Logic Apps, databases, APIs).

Learn more: Configure Message Types, Configure Search Fields, Log Event Processing

Message Processing Flow

How BizTalk messages become business-searchable in Nodinite:

1. Events logged – BizTalk tracking creates events in BizTalkDTADb when tracking is enabled
2. Nodinite copies – Logging Agent transfers events to Log Databases (60-90 seconds latency)
3. Message Types determined – From BTS.MessageType context property, payload root node, or custom rules
4. Search Fields extracted – XPath/Regex extract business data (Order Numbers, Customer IDs)
5. Data searchable – Log Views enable searching by business identifiers, not just GUIDs

Important

Configure Message Types and Search Fields to make BizTalk events searchable by business data like Order Number, Customer ID, Invoice Number.

Learn more: Configure Message Types, Configure Search Fields, Log Event Processing

Prerequisites for BizTalk Logging

Two critical prerequisites:

1. Infrastructure Setup – Linked Servers, firewall rules, SQL permissions, Kerberos, MSDTC
2. BizTalk Tracking Enabled – #1 reason for "no logs appearing"—tracking must be enabled on ports/orchestrations

Enable tracking: BizTalk Admin Console → Port Properties → Tracking tab → Enable Message Body and/or Message Properties

Bulk management: Use Tracking Management feature to enable tracking on hundreds of ports from one screen—no BizTalk Console access required.

Complete guide: Prerequisites for BizTalk Logging with step-by-step instructions

Supported BizTalk Versions

Note

Nodinite builds and tests against the latest available Cumulative Update (CU) for each BizTalk version. We recommend keeping BizTalk updated to the latest CU for security, stability, and performance.

Automatic Synchronization & Reliability

Reliability features: Reboot anything anytime—agent resumes automatically • Original timestamps preserved • Zero data loss (with proper DTA Purge configuration) • Automatic catch-up after outages

Latency: 60-90 seconds (tracked messages appear in Nodinite after BizTalk tracking)

DTA Purge warning: Don't stop agent longer than your DTA Purge window—purged events cannot be recovered.

Learn more: Configure BizTalk LogAgent, Non-Events Monitoring

Get Started

Common Questions

Q: Do I need pipeline components? A: No—agent copies from BizTalkDTADb directly. Log Pipeline Components available for advanced scenarios.

Q: How does this replace BAM? A: No BAM definitions, no archiving jobs, business-searchable data, multi-platform correlation. BAM Replacement

Q: Multiple BizTalk Groups? A: Yes—one license, unlimited groups. Configure BizTalk LogAgent

Q: What if BizTalk reboots? A: Agent auto-resumes with original timestamps. Non-Events Monitoring

Q: Latency? A: 60-90 seconds typical. Configure BizTalk LogAgent

Q: Search by Order Number? A: Configure Message Types + Search Fields with XPath/JSONPath expressions.

Q: Business user access? A: Yes—grant Log Views access. No BizTalk Console needed.

Q: Required tracking options? A: Message Body and/or Message Properties. Use Tracking Management for bulk configuration.

Q: DTA Purge? A: Ensure agent synchronizes before purge window. Non-Events Monitoring

Q: Migration to Logic Apps/MuleSoft? A: Yes—open SQL format, no vendor lock-in. BPM for correlation.

Additional Resources

• Prerequisites for BizTalk Logging Agent – SQL Server access, network connectivity, BizTalk tracking requirements
• Configure BizTalk LogAgent – System parameters, polling intervals, multiple BizTalk Groups, latency tuning
• BAM Replacement – Detailed comparison of Nodinite vs. BAM capabilities, migration guidance
• Log Pipeline Components – Alternative logging method for advanced scenarios (logging invalid messages, custom tracking)
• Add or manage Log View – Create role-based Log Views for different user groups
• Message Types – Define message types for business-searchable logging (critical for Search Fields)
• Search Fields – Extract business data from payloads and context properties
• Non-Events Monitoring – Alert when expected messages don't arrive or volumes fall outside thresholds
• Business Process Modeling (BPM) – Correlate BizTalk messages with other systems for end-to-end process tracking
• Log Event Processing – Understand how Nodinite processes logged events and determines Message Types
• Troubleshooting BizTalk Logging – Diagnose common issues: connectivity, permissions, tracking not appearing

Next Step

Ready to replace BAM and enable long-term BizTalk message tracking? Start by reviewing prerequisites and configuring the BizTalk Log Agent:

Prerequisites for BizTalk Logging Agent – Confirm SQL access, network connectivity, and BizTalk tracking requirements
Configure BizTalk LogAgent – Enable BizTalk logging in Nodinite Logging Service
Add or manage Log View – Create role-based Log Views for searching BizTalk messages

Related Logging & Monitoring Solutions

• Database Monitoring Agent – Monitor BizTalk SQL Server health, MessageBox size, SQL Agent jobs, backups
• Windows Server Agent – Monitor BizTalk host servers (CPU, memory, disk, services, Event Log, BizTalk Host Instances)
• Non-Events Monitoring – Alert when expected BizTalk messages don't arrive or message volumes fall outside thresholds
• Business Process Modeling (BPM) – Correlate BizTalk messages with other systems (Logic Apps, databases, APIs) for end-to-end visibility