sqlservr.exe memory usage question

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sqlservr.exe memory usage question

darryl-715744

SSC Enthusiast

Points: 174
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May 19, 2008 at 8:27 am

#190625

Greetings,
Have a machine running Windows 2003 Server standard installed and running fine. I have from day one (over 1.5 years ago) had Galllaxy Express Enterprise backup software installed and running on it. The machine has always been sluggish. Looked a swap file usage and determined I needed to upgrade the ram from 1GB to 3GB. Oh, and this machine is a file server. Installed the RAM this past weekend and powered up the server. Didn't do any performance analysis at that time.
Today, I look at it and the machine has pf usage at 2.19GB! Looking at the processes tab of taskmgr shows that sqlservr.exe is using 1,716,156K of memory. Since the backup app isn't "doing" anything right now, what gives ? Why is sqlservr eating so much memory ?
any ideas would be greatly appreciated as I want this server to quit swapping.
thanks,
Darryl

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Steve Jones - SSC Editor SSC Guru Points: 736270 More actions · Answer 1

SQL Server will tend to take as much memory as it can unless you limit it. This memory was probably used at some point and SQL Server isn't going to give it back.

If you want to limit SQL's use of memory, you need to set that in the server properties. SQL will tend to level out at 1.7GB if it can. You might want to limit it to 1GB and see if that works.

KenpoDBA SSCrazy Eights Points: 9811 More actions · Answer 2

Y, that paging you're seeing is SQL contending with other things on the box as they need to load and unload RAM. If you're running SQL, file, and backup services on that box, and SQL has 1.7GB out of 3, then you're starving the other services because the OS wants at least 1GB, and it would prefer 1.5. So you're essentially giving SQL 1.7, the OS 1, and the rest of the services .3GB.

SQL's the one using all the RAM, but I doubt it's doing any paging. It's the other services that are paging probably. So either cap SQL at 1GB, or make it dynamic and don't set a min memory and you will be better. And if it continues, then maybe you should dedicate a box to one of the other services.

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darryl-715744 SSC Enthusiast Points: 174 More actions · Answer 3

Thanks for the education, I really appreciate it.

Don't see where Gallaxy Express gave me any tools for changing the sql server settings.

I don't see any management tools for sql server installed either.

any ideas how I can cap (1GB) sql server ?

thanks,

Darryl

KenpoDBA SSCrazy Eights Points: 9811 More actions · Answer 4

Yeah, you'll have to install sql mgmt tools somewhere and connect to that box under an admin acct. Once connected, you should be able to right-click on the sql server and goto properties. Then the memory tab will show you the rest of the way.

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John Rowan SSC Guru Points: 56440 More actions · Answer 5

Or, you could use QA and run a sp_configure:

sp_configure 'max server memory (MB)', 1024

GO

RECONFIGURE WITH OVERRIDE

John Rowan

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