Interesting summary of how Windows memory arguments work

At work, there’s been some debate on how best to structure our J2EE servers to maximise utilisation of a scarce resource (per-CPU licenses!). The crux of the debate centred, for some reason, on how we can allocate more JVM instances per server.

To do that, we needed to understand how Windows (we use Windows 2K Server as a host platform) allocates memory to processes, and how it behaves when the amount of physical memory gets to a decent size (8-16GB).

I found this summary by Raymond Chen to be extremely informative, and what it boils down to is this:

• You can configure Windows to use more than 4GB of physical memory.
• Windows processes, despite being given a 4GB virtual address space, typically can only access 2GB (the other 2GB reserved for use by the kernel in dealing with the process). This was the reason for a JVM heap size limit we hit of about 1.5GB.
• You can make Windows allow process to access 3GB of address space, but it’s not contiguous (there’s a block reserved around the 2GB mark that can’t be shifted). This explained why the method (the /3GB switch) wasn’t supported by Sun (or BEA); the JVM heaps needed to be contiguous in the virtual address space, and they couldn’t be.

So, what it boiled down to was: we can have as many JVMs as we like, as long as they fit in the physical memory (we don’t want to page in and out all the time), and as long as they are under 2GB in memory size each.

Author: Robert Watkins

My name is Robert Watkins. I am a software developer and have been for over 20 years now. I currently work for people, but my opinions here are in no way endorsed by them (which is cool; their opinions aren’t endorsed by me either). My main professional interests are in Java development, using Agile methods, with a historical focus on building web based applications. I’m also a Mac-fan and love my iPhone, which I’m currently learning how to code for. I live and work in Brisbane, Australia, but I grew up in the Northern Territory, and still find Brisbane too cold (after 22 years here). I’m married, with two children and one cat. My politics are socialist in tendency, my religious affiliation is atheist (aka “none of the above”), my attitude is condescending and my moral standing is lying down. View all posts by Robert Watkins