Processing large Set of SQL Data and MVC

[Tim Jones]

What is the best way to retrieve large sets of data from a database? One option I tried was to create a Method within the Model Class (MVC) and store the raw data within a Map and pass it to the Controller Class to process it, but this quickly results in OutOfMemory Exception. Another option, is to process the raw data without storing it within a Collection. The problem here is that the processing has to take place within the Controller Class, this requires opening a connection to the database and retrieving the data but this is breaking MVC Rules as it is the job of the Model to communicate with database, Controller sits in the middle and passes data from model to view and vice versa. Some suggestions will be appreciated.