Max Memory limit of SQL Server 2005 Standard Edition 32 bit

Hi experts,

I have Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard Edition 32 bit with SQL Server 2005 Standard Edition SP2 installed on my production database server.There we have 4 GB RAM in total which is the maximum memory limit of underlying operating system.Recently I figured out there is a memory bottleneck so I am going to upgrade operating system to Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise edition 32 bit which can support up to 64 GB RAM enabling PAE (Physical Address Extension)setting on the server as I found on MSDN site.

If I have 12 GB RAM in total on the server and there is no application other than SQL Server installed on the machine, what is the maximum memory that can be used by SQL Server 2005 STANDARD EDITION sp2 32 bit ?

Thanks, Hemant

asked Nov 26 '10 at 04:33 AM in Default

Hemant
277 ● 9 ● 12 ● 14

(comments are locked)

4 answers:

Feature comparison says "Memory limited to maximum supported by operating system."

http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/2005/en/us/compare-features.aspx

answered Nov 26 '10 at 04:37 AM

bonskijr
174 ● 4 ● 5 ● 7

So can it be confirmed , SQL Server 2005 Standard Edition (32 bit) on Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition (32 bit) can use up to 64 GB RAM which is the maximum memory limit on the given OS ??

Nov 26 '10 at 04:51 AM Hemant

It should, though I havent had experience of memory beyond 8GB for our servers. Of course like Kev Riley said, you should leave some for the OS.

Nov 26 '10 at 05:01 AM bonskijr

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It is OS maximum.

So assuming you get 12GB, you can, in theory, use 12GB although you'd be wise to leave some for the OS :)

answered Nov 26 '10 at 04:40 AM

Kev Riley ♦♦
46.1k ● 39 ● 43 ● 69

Do I need to do enable AWE (Advanced Windowing Extension) on SQL Server to make it use that much RAM or can it use the available memory on its own without enabling AWE ?

Nov 26 '10 at 04:58 AM Hemant

Use AWE and give the service account the "Lock pages in memory" privilege under Local Security Policy.

Nov 26 '10 at 05:12 AM Blackhawk-17

Yes I believe you do need to configure AWE correctly.

Nov 26 '10 at 05:19 AM Kev Riley ♦♦

Does SQL Server Standard Edition Support AWE feature ?

Nov 26 '10 at 05:27 AM Hemant

2005 as of SP2

Nov 26 '10 at 08:40 AM Blackhawk-17

(comments are locked)

To add to @bonskijr's answer - here is a list of memory limits for windows:

answered Nov 26 '10 at 04:49 AM

WilliamD
25.3k ● 16 ● 18 ● 41

(comments are locked)

If I would, I will set the server memory to (keep 2 GB of memory for operating system)-

sp_configure 'show advanced options', 1;
GO
RECONFIGURE;
GO
sp_configure 'max server memory', 10240;
GO
RECONFIGURE;
GO

Also you can get better performance by setting the AWE option on. Enabling AWE Memory in 32 bit Server

answered Nov 26 '10 at 04:59 AM