I've got a distributed system where there will be 1 SQL Server, 1-n processing servers, and 1-n data suppliers (hardware devices across the network). The data being supplied will require processing prior to going into the relational DB structure - performed by the processing servers (as windows services - .net code to parse the data, process it, and insert it into the relational structure.)
To handle the potential load and not slow down the data suppliers, I want to implement a queue, but I'm not sure I want to add the complexity of an MSMQ server to the mix. Is there a good alternative to MSMQ, such as using the DB (a flat table) as the queue? Does .NET provide any out-of-the-box support for DB queues, or is there another option for reliable queueing?
Thanks
EDIT: (29 Nov, 11:30pm)
sounds like SQL Service Broker (SSB) might do the trick.
http://www.netframeworkdev.com/windows-communication-foundation/service-broker-vs-msmq-as-reliable-queueing-mechanism-63981.shtml
EDIT: (30 Nov, 7:45am)
Found another very useful link on this subject:
http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/sqlservicebroker/thread/52687510-0852-44f3-bfcd-83610d1c1b9a
I'm also looking into the max/min size of the data that will be supplied. Of the top of their head, does anyone know the max size accommodated by MSMQ and/or SSB?
MSMQ: 4MB message size
SSB: 2GB message size
EDIT: (30 nov, 8;15am)
Great comparison between MSMQ & SSB here:
Good Strategy for Message Queuing?
I would use MSMQ, it doesnt add that much complexity, and it is so easy to backup the messages, so processing can continue even after a system restart. You could use something like SSB.