Re: Database Memory Tool

• Previous message: Maciek Sarnowicz [MSFT]: "Re: Help with SQL errors in Profiler"
• In reply to: Marc: "Database Memory Tool"
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Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2004 18:12:55 -0400

Marc wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I'm wondering, is there any option/tool that could let me
> monitor a database's memory. There's a maximum amount
> that we can allow, and it would be nice to have some kind
> of alarm/warning message that would tell us we're at our
> maximum, or close to it.
>
> Thank you kindly.
>
> Marc

You can use performance monitor to watch memory used by the SQL Server
service. If you have SQL Server set up to automatically configure memory
usage, it will use much of the server memory and not release any until
the OS requests it do so. Using a lot of memory does not necessarily
mean there is a problem. Since pages are moved into memory and kept
there, if your database is much larger than your memory footprint,
you're likely to see SQL Server using a lot of memory after enough
queries are run and pages read into memory. Certainly, adding as much
memory as SQL Server can handle is the best way to go, given how cheap
memory is and how slow disk access is. If you see a lot of disk activity
(also monitored from performance monitor), you may try and tune your
queries. Eliminating unnecessary reading of data keeps the data in cache
from moving out. Things like table scans cause a lot of data to move
into cache and forces data that can benefit from being in cache out.
Reading from disk is slow.

-- 
David Gugick
Imceda Software
www.imceda.com

• Previous message: Maciek Sarnowicz [MSFT]: "Re: Help with SQL errors in Profiler"
• In reply to: Marc: "Database Memory Tool"
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