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Matt
Asked: 2017-04-27 06:29:06 +0800 CST

Is there a point to having Windows manage the page file size and have a "dedicated" swap drive

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On a SQL 2008R2 box we recently had a number of jobs fails for various reasons that were mostly memory related, including one stating the page file was full. The Windows 2008R2 VM had 16GB of RAM and a dedicated disk for a 6GB page file. For now we moved the page file back to the C: drive and increased its size to 8GB. The long term effects of that are yet to be seen.

Our Server Admin, this morning, increased that "swap" drive to 25GB as was recommended by the GUI. What struck me as odd is that the admin also changed virtual memory to be mananged automatically across all drives. This strikes me as waste of space but I don't really understand how Windows automatically manages the page file. Here is a snapshot of the current virtual memory settings to help with the description.

Virtual memory settings

Can a Windows OS that is automatically managing paging file size for all drives effectively use a drive that is dedicated for that purpose?

windows

1 Answers

  1. To allow windows to manage the pagefile size but only use the S: (swap) dedicated volume:

    • Uncheck the "Automatically manage paging file size for all drives" check box.
    • Highlight the "C:" volume, and select the "No paging file" radio button and click the "Set" button
    • Highlight the "S:" volume and select the "System managed size" radio button and click "Set"
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