Question

Windows Server 2003 swap file size

Asked by: markgeer

We are getting a new Oracle database server with 4GB  of RAM that will run Windows Server 2003.  What is the minimum or optimum swap file size for W2K3 server with 4GB of RAM?  Is it possible to run W2K3 server without a swap file?

Maybe this should be a separate question, but I'm wondering if W2K3 supports a "RAM drive" or if there are third-party utilities than can use part of the RAM as a high-speed, pseudo disk with W2K3 server.  I would like to put the Oracle temporary tablespace in RAM if possible, since it is fairly I/O intensive and it does not need to be protected in case of a power outage or system crash.

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Asked On
2003-06-12 at 08:42:11ID20646121
Tags

2003

,

swap

,

file

,

size

,

windows

Topic

Windows 2000 Operating System

Participating Experts
4
Points
250
Comments
6

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Answers

 

by: jumblePosted on 2003-06-12 at 09:29:02ID: 8710335

The file should be a fixed size so that it does not get fragmented, with minimum and maximum set the same
The file should be 2.5 times the size of RAM (or some other multiple)
suggested that a sensible start point for the initial size would be the greater of (a) 100 MB or (b) enough to bring RAM plus file to about 500 MB. EXAMPLE: Set the Initial page file size to 400 MB on a computer with 128 MB RAM; 250 on a 256 MB computer; or 100 MB for larger sizes.

You can run it with out a pagefile using that much ram anything over 1gb i don't use a page file
But i found that using a small page file on the C drive just in case system crashes could be useful

 

by: Redwulf__53Posted on 2003-06-12 at 11:03:59ID: 8711152

The swapfile just increases the amount of memory available to the system. There are many opinions about IF and HOW to configure it manually.
In your case (4g RAM), if you run 2003 Standard edition, you cannot configure a pagefile as the system only supports up to 4Gb. Total.
Just keep in mind these maximums you can use for various OS versions:
Standard ed.: 4Gb max TOTAL (=RAM+Pagefile)
Enterprise ed.: 32Gb (64Gb with 64-bit processor)
Datacenter ed.: 64Gb (512Gb with 64-bit processor)

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/evaluation/features/compareeditions.mspx

PS My personal opinion is that it is optimal to have a separate SCSI harddisk for pagefile only. Then I configure the pagefile to be maximum total size, i.e. Windows 2003 Standard Edition, on a server with 1Gb RAM, I would set the pagefile to 3Gb.

 

by: markgeerPosted on 2003-06-13 at 05:38:41ID: 8717209

I appreciated the help from both of you.

Jumble: Have you run Windows Server 2003 with 1GB or of RAM without a page file, or just other versions of Windows that way?

Redwulf: Are you sure about the 4GB total for actual RAM plus pagefile in Windows Server 2003?  In our WindowsNT server we have 2GB of RAM (which I understand is the maximum that NT can support) plus a pagefile of 2GB.  In that server the pagefile is rarely used.  

 

by: Redwulf__53Posted on 2003-06-13 at 06:37:35ID: 8717625

NT4, 2000 and 2003 (standard editions) can all only address 4Gb memory total. In NT4 there is a 2gb limit on the *physical* memory.
In 2000, yu can use 4gb physical memory.

 

by: gorazdhPosted on 2004-07-27 at 04:45:08ID: 11645389

Limits described by Redwulf apply only to *physical* memory. They most definitely do not apply to paging file. You can read about limits on paging file for Windows Server 2003 at http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;294418&Product=winsvr2003

 

by: twoboatsPosted on 2009-11-05 at 07:50:00ID: 25750735

"In your case (4g RAM), if you run 2003 Standard edition, you cannot configure a pagefile as the system only supports up to 4Gb. Total. "

That's plain wrong.

20120131-EE-VQP-002

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