Home Forums Discussions General Discussion Reboot of Server

Every week by the end of the week AC becomes very slow. Rebooting our Windows 2003 server fixes the seepd issue. Any thoughts from anyone on this issue

Mukesh

Likely you don't have enough RAM and SQL which takes a 1GB begins to put more and more pages into memory. So, say you had 2GBs of memory. After a week, SQL would be back up to a GB, and most of your other 1GB would be dedicated to processes and the database itself and whatever else is running on the server. Even if you had 4GB on a 32-bit server, the server will only "see" 3.2GBs. So, the 1GB is gone and now you are down to 2.2. Eventually, SQL will have to do too many page swaps and your performance will take a hit.

There are three things you can do:

1. Make sure you virtual memory is 1.5 times the amount of physical memory.
2. If you have plenty of memory, make sure the minimum and maximum amount of memory set in SQL is 1024MBs.
3. If you don't have much memory, set the memory in SQL to something like 700MBs. But, this will mean less pages and more page swaps.
4. Moving virtual memory to another drive can help or splitting it.

But, the number one thing you can do is add memory. Again, some disagree, but at least 6GBs. Then you will likely have no issues.

Generally, users run 2 to 4GBs and they have SQL Express limited to 1GB of that. If a user has SQL Server Edition 2005 and 12GB of RAM, they have a SQL Server with unlimited memory capacity with plenty of RAM to take it from.

Get a new server, or atleast up the RAM. I made the jump from 2GB RAM on the server to a new server with 8 GB. I use to have the same problem you described with needed to reboot the server everyday! Haven't had to since the new server. You might check your current server memory usage stats. Sometimes something can become corupted and it will demand more of the available RAM.

Mukesh,
Do you by any chance use Updox? We are very happy with that program but we have a peculiar problem with it that causes it to use increasing amounts of memory. At some point it slows the entire system and restarting fixes that. It sounds like a rare problem from speaking to the Updox people, but I just wonder if by chance you have the same thing.

Bert-

Great advice, my virtual memory settings were quite low even though our SBS08 box has 6GBs. It was 6441MB and I've changed the initial and max to 9211MB which should help out. We aren't exactly crawling regarding speed, but faster is always better.

Regarding SQL, I'm not sure how to change the memory specific to those processes. Curious to see what it's set to now...

Mukesh-

You may want to investigate other possible bottlenecks to your system. I'd start with the resource monitor in server manager--you'll be able to see what is taxing your system to the point where it has to be rebooted [not normal in a server environment]. Like Bert suggested, step one would be additional RAM. Also check your error logs when it slows down to see if SBS is trying to tell you something.

Mukesh,

As my signature implies, in order for us to help you, it is helpful if you stay current in the discussion. Simply knowing how much RAM you have would be very helpful.

Thank you for the great advice.

The server has 4 GB RAM, 2.4 GHZ Interl Core 2 duo with Windows 2003 Server.

It is running UpDox. In task Manger it shows 3.2 GB Page file use and 3 % of CPU use.

Mukesh

Which would make complete sense as the OS generally sees the 3.2GBs exactly.

Tom is completely correct. While XP Pro can do 64-bit, that would be a crazy way to go.

The deal is this: In 2011, it is time to switch to 64-bit. As everyone knows, RAM is the most effective way to increase performance in your computer. And, it's dirt cheap. So, you want to add what you want. All of my computers have 8GBs of RAM and the server has 20. Doesn't need 20, but, what the hell, I got a good deal on 16GB of RAM for Dell, and it had four. Eight is a good number and, hey, if you get into trouble, go to NewEgg and get four more.

You can get by on 3.2 GB of RAM if you want to reboot every week which sort of defeats the purpose of letting SQL manage its RAM and obtain page files. I would suggest upgrading to SBS 2008 or 2011 if your processor will handle 64-bit, which it should. Depends on how many users or machines you have for licensing. You also have the choice of Windows Foundation.

Mukesh,
As usual, Bert is giving you excellent advice. On the other hand, your issue may be a simple one (at least simple to "treat" but not to "cure"). As I mentioned above, we have a memory leak with Updox and perhaps you have the same problem (though Tobin at Updox says he has only rarely seen it).

The next time your system slows, check to see how much RAM is being used by the Updox Connector. It should use only 30-40Mb, but at times, when we slow down, it is up to 300, 400, or even 600Mb. We stop the process in the task manager, restart the connector, and the problem is fixed (usually for several days). It is annoying to have to do this, but it takes all of 30 seconds, and does not involve restarting the server.

Check to see if this is occurring and please let me know if it is the case; we can convince UpDox to address the issue faster if it is more widespread.

I think the issue is significantly better

I set up in scheduled tasks of a reboot of the server every night. It has not been slowing down since that. I am still working on getting a new server, but this fix has made the issue more elective

Thanks for all the advice

Mukesh