SQL Server Memory usage

  • Hi,

    I have an instance of SQL server 2008 std installed on my laptop. my problem is that whenever I run a query (select distinct col1 from table) sql server takes up to 90% of memory on my machine. this table only has 900 000 rows and is the only table in that server at the moment.

    I have never done server administration before only installation. my machine details are

    Dell Inspirion 15-3521, Intel Core i5, 6gig Ram.

    Windows 8 enterprise

    SQL server 2008 STD

    Visual Studio 2008

    Visual Studio 2010

    Office 2010

    Powerpivot

    this problem persists even when all the other applications are not running. as soon as I run any query on that server, gone is memory I cant even go to task manager.

    Please assist as this is my only machine and I use it for my development.

  • It will try to use all available memory if it needs to.

    I'm not very good at this stuff but maybe somebody else will be along in a minute. In the meantime, if you right-click on the server (in SSMS) and select Properties > Memory, what do you have under Maximum Server Memory?

  • Put an upper limit for SQL Server so that it doesn't take all your memory. SQL Server, out of the box, is configured to take every bit of memory it can, and give none of it back to the OS. In general, it's best to put a cap on it, especially in your situation where you're on a small machine.

    "The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
    - Theodore Roosevelt

    Author of:
    SQL Server Execution Plans
    SQL Server Query Performance Tuning

  • HI Guys,

    Thanks for the feed back. the max server memory on it is 2147483647. I will try and reduce it and let you know

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