This step serves for counting (tracking) records in a data flow. The tracking is done by virtually splitting the records into batches of a specified size and tracing the exact event when the last record of each batch passed. This information is then sent to the specified output. This can be either a file, the standard output, or the standard error output.

This step tracks processing time for each batch, and based on the settings (the properties reportPerfPerSecondand reportPerfPerBatch) outputs this information in a given format. The step also outputs information about the start (event when the first record came) and the end of the processing (event when the activity of the step finished). The last record event is sent to the output at the moment the last batch is finished.