Numeric success event limits in Adobe Analytics

As far as I know, there isn’t a technical limit to how the data can be collected in terms of events. But in terms of how the data is displayed, Adobe does have some limits. I’ve experimented with calculated metrics that result in very large numbers, and somewhere around 1e+21 it starts converting to scientific notation (1e+21 is around one sextillion). Eventually numbers bigger than that just start to say “infinity” (although I’m not sure the threshold between scientific notation and infinity). 

That said, I’m not sure how these very large numbers translate into the output from data warehouse, data feeds, or report builder.

Hi ​@ManuS_ 

Are you referring to the Event Serialization for success events? The value that is used to determine a “unique success”, and if the serialization is used again, subsequent success events will be ignored?

If so, the Event Serialization only supports 20 bytes of data, if you send more than 20 bytes, the value will be truncated, and only the first 20 will be used.

https://experienceleague.adobe.com/en/docs/analytics/implementation/vars/page-vars/events/event-serialization

I have advocated that 20 is not enough, given many systems are now using 32 or 36 bit guids….  but I imagine the infrastructure to support a change would be pretty large… 

Hi ​@ManuS_ 

Great question! There are actually two different limits to keep in mind: the value per hit and the total accumulated value in reports.

1. Per-Hit Limit (The Input)
The maximum value you can pass in a single numeric success event (e.g., event1=12345) is 2,147,483,647.

• Why: Adobe Analytics uses a 32-bit signed integer for the individual event value on a single hit.
• Decimals: If you use a Currency event instead of a Numeric event, you can include up to 2 decimal places, but the integer limit remains the same.

2. Accumulated Limit (The Reporting)
In your reports (Workspace/Reports & Analytics), the maximum accumulated sum for a metric is much higher: approx. 9 quintillion (9,223,372,036,854,775,807).

• Why: Adobe uses a 64-bit float/integer for the total aggregated sums in the reporting database. You are very unlikely to ever hit this cap!

Important Caveats:

• Scientific Notation: If you pass a number larger than 2.1 billion in a single hit, the value will typically be capped or rejected, or it might show up as a negative number due to 'integer overflow.'
• Data Warehouse: If you export data via Data Warehouse, the limits are similarly high (64-bit), so your extracts will handle large sums correctly.

Thanks,

Santosh Kumar