SQL Server Enterprise update - Not using more than 128GB RAM

Question

Hi All,

We have upgraded SQL Server 2019 Standard Edition to Enterprise edition when it had 128GB Ram. Then the VM was powered off and memory was upgraded to 256GB. After powering it back on SQL Server is not using more than 128GB Ram which is the MAX for standard edition. It is not because it does not need it but it is not going beyond 128GB.

Why SQL Server is not using more that 128GB memory even though it is upgraded to Enterprise Edition ?. It is SQL Server 2019 with CU17. Do we need to re-install the CU17 even though I did not see any reference suggesting that. Any ideas ?.

Answer 1

Hi @Carlos D,

Based on the information you provided, it seems like there is an issue with configuring the server memory.

As all we know, in older versions of SQL Server, memory utilization was virtually uncapped, indicating to SQL Server that all system memory was available for use. Since SQL Server 2019(15.x), SQL Setup in Window servers provides a recommendation for the max server memory for a standalone SQL Server instance based on a percentage of available system memory at the time of installation.

So I think you may have configured your server memory during you upgraded SQL Server 2019 Enterprise. Please right-click a server and select Properties, select the Memory page of the Server Properties window to check the maximum server memory. Hope this article can help you understand well. Server memory configuration options - SQL Server | Microsoft Learn .

Please feel free to share with us here if you have other questions.

Regards，

Zoe Hui

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Answer 2

I have replied to this post but I don't know what happened.

That is not it. I am well aware of the SQL Server MIN/MAX memory settings. The MAX memory is set to 230 GB (256 - 10% = ~230). SQL Server is not using more than 128 GB memory which is the MAX for standard edition after upgrading to Enterprise Edition.

130925.40625 MB = 127.85684204101562 GB

Answer 3

Hi @Carlos D,

Thanks for your reply, you’ve configured the maximum memory but the issue didn’t solve. So I think the error may on your operating system. For x64 architectures, SQL Server processes can access virtual address space up to the maximum capacity of the operating system, and the committed address space area is mapped to the available physical memory by the Window Virtual Memory Manager. For more information about the amount of physical memory supported by different operating systems, this article can help you well. Memory Limits for Windows and Windows Server Releases - Win32 apps | Microsoft Learn .

Best regards,

Lucy Chen

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Answer 4

What memory limit are we talking about here ?. This is "Microsoft Windows Server 2022 Datacenter" edition with 256GB RAM assigned to it. It is memory limit is 48TB.