Page file recommendations

Anthony DePinto 1 Reputation point
2021-06-30T19:29:18.84+00:00

Running into an issue on Windows Server 2019 that we never had on 2012 R2. Primarily the servers are used for websites running IIS and the same application on virtually all of them. We've been hitting resource exhaustions/low virtual memory issues and I'm wondering if it's the page file. On the 2019 servers that have say 12GB RAM (all virtual machines on VMWware) we have it set to automatically manage. the page file size is 2431 MB recommended and 7611 MB currently allocated. I realize things have changed it's not a straight 1.5x anymore, but... when I look at memory at the moment when we just got an exhaustion (which requires a reboot to clear) it has 11.1GB memory in use, 914MB available but committed is 19.1/19.4 GB. I guess my question is, if it needs more, why isn't it resizing the page file to accommodate? We've now seen this behavior on both 2019 servers we tuned up, but not on any of the 2012 R2 boxes.

for instance, my 2012 R2 shows 15.9GB is use, 86.7MB available (yes I know, add memory) but 40.2.45.4GB committed., so here the page file size increased when it needed too.

Windows Server 2019
Windows Server 2019
A Microsoft server operating system that supports enterprise-level management updated to data storage.
3,458 questions
Internet Information Services
Windows Server
Windows Server
A family of Microsoft server operating systems that support enterprise-level management, data storage, applications, and communications.
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  1. Dave Patrick 426.1K Reputation points MVP
    2021-06-30T22:41:53.417+00:00
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  2. Carl Fan 6,836 Reputation points
    2021-07-01T10:11:09.78+00:00

    Hi,
    I found that you also have post another case.
    You can modify PagedPollSize value at regedit to increase the size or PoolUsageMaximun to set a lower % were the memory manager start the trimming process earlier.

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management.

    PoolUsageMaximum (REG_DWORD) : value at which the Memory Manager starts trimming the pool. Default is 80, but you can set it to 60 or even 40.

    PagedPoolSize (REG_DWORD) : setting the value to 0xFFFFFFFF allocates the maximum paged pool.

    Also, you can uncheck "Automatically manage paging file size for all drivers" at virtual memory options and increase page file size.
    https://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/how-to-optimize-the-paging-file-in-windows/
    Win2012 R2:40.2/45.4GB committed Win2019:19.1/19.4 GB
    I consider that something isn't accessing ram correctly or isn't letting it go, either the application has a limit or the way memory is handled in Windows 2019 is affected by something installed. Some information below may explain the memory issue.

    https://superuser.com/questions/943175/windows-says-ram-ran-out-while-there-is-still-4-gb-of-physical-memory-available
    Hope this helps and please help to accept as Answer if the response is useful.
    Best Regards,
    Carl