Here is a thread I started on the foundation server:
http://www.amazingcharts.com/ub/ubb...Re_From_P2P_to_Client_Server_f#Post20094I agree with both John and Indy. I do think we could help more if we had a lot more information. In fact, John's ideas are great, but they may be moot if you already have them. Here is a start:
1. What model and what specs is the server? A 2900 PE with 4GB of RAM and a RAID1 is a lot faster than a startup model with 1GB. If you only have 1GB, SQL will take up to 1GB, and it won't be long until it loads up the RAM with pages and procedures.
2. What exact OS is it?
3. Again, processor speed, RAM, hard drives, NIC card, etc.
4. Clients. What are the three desktops? Again, what are the specs. RAM will matter and processor will help. But, RAM is always good. As John alluded to, what speed are the Ethernet (NIC) cards. After we know, we will want to know what the duplex is. A 1GB card set at 10-half is only as good as 10-half.
5. Are you using Cat5 or Cat5e or Cat6?
6. KEY. ARE YOU USING A SWITCH OR A HUB? What is the speed of the switch?
7. After going to Amazing Utilities, go to Advanced at the top and check speeds. These should be in the 0.6 to 1.5 range. Anything higher, I would worry.
8. No one does this, but I will try it anyway. Troubleshoot through isolation. If one is slow, disconnect ALL computers from the network. Run AC on the server. How fast is it?
9. Add a computer to the switch. Look at all the things we talked about. RAM, processor, NIC and see how fast it runs.
10. If good speed, add another, and so on. If you find one that is really slow, go back and check the others. If you are using a hub run to the nearest computer store and buying a switch. With a hub, every computer you add will slow down your network. Switches are smart, hubs are dumb.
11. On your server, open task manager and click on Processes. On the right, click on Mem Usage, until the process with the highest memory utilization is at the top. It WILL be SQL. How much is it?
12. Click on performance tab. At bottom under Physical Memory (K), how much Total Memory and how much Available memory do you have? The total memory should reflect how much RAM you have in your PC. The available is the total minus what your computer is using. If there is very little available, that's a problem. That is where adding RAM will give you a lot of help.
13. Reboot the server. Check these numbers again. SQL should give back its memory to the server again.
14. If RAM is an issue, right click on My Computer, choose Advanced. Under virtual memory, choose Change. Choose custom size and enter the same number in Initial MB and Maximum MB. These numbers should be 1.5 times your RAM on the server. This could be very helpful if you have too little RAM.
Using the $2,000 to upgrade your system or go with Foundation Server will be helpful. Otherwise, trying to buy a decent server with good specs and an OS and licenses will cost your boss more than that.
But, just a plain Dell Optiplex computer with 2GB of RAM and a Pentium Dual Core processor of the speeds today, should run AC just fine.
Unfortunately, in any system, there are bottlenecks. Somewhat you have one.
