August 7, 2008 at 1:22 pm
We are installing a new server.
SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition (EE) SP4 (waiting on 2008 to upgrade)
Windows 2003 Enterprise
16GB RAM
/PAE is in the boot.ini file
My question is to be able to use all 16GB of RAM do we need to enable AWE? The network guy tells me no, but I'm thinking we do.
Do we need the /3GB in the boot.ini file?
We never upgraded to SP4 with our current server, so my question is-->
Do we need to run the Microsoft's hotfix for this?
August 7, 2008 at 4:24 pm
Regarding 16 GB memory usgae try leaving atleast 1 GB for operating system. Yes, you can use /3 GB switch in this case. Regarding hotfix I can't say anyhting--experts please comment.
Manu
August 8, 2008 at 7:25 am
Have a look at dbcc memorystatus and see what it says
1. Add /PAE to boot.ini
2. Give SQL 14GB of RAM
sp_configure 'show advanced options', 1
RECONFIGURE
GO
sp_configure 'awe enabled', 1
RECONFIGURE
GO
sp_configure 'max server memory', 14336
RECONFIGURE
3. Upgrade to SP4 then apply hotfix (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/899761)
4. Run dbcc memorystatus again to see what it says.
I don't believe you need the /3gb switch either.
I don't think I left anything out. Another link on AWE(http://blogs.msdn.com/slavao/archive/2006/04/12/575152.aspx).
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August 8, 2008 at 7:37 am
If you are using more than 4 GB on a 32 bit system, you need AWE. Otherwise the max that a process can use is 2GB (or 3GB with /3GB)
Do Not use both AWE and /3GB at once. Especially with > 8 GB memory. It's a quick way to an unresponsive server. The OS needs memory to handle the AWE paging mechanisms. You should set the max memory setting of SQL Server to around 14GB, provided its the only thing on the server. If there are other apps on the server as well, set it lower. You do not want to starve the OS of memory.
Gail Shaw
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability
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