Memory Performance Tuning in Systems Management Server

• Microsoft Systems Management Server versions 1.0 and 1.1

SUMMARY

This article addresses how you can set, and how Systems Management Server will set the Working Set for Systems Management Server processes.

The Working Set of a process is the set of memory pages currently visible to the process in physical RAM memory. These pages are resident and available for an application to use without triggering a page fault. The size of the Working Set of a process is specified in bytes. The minimum and maximum Working Set sizes affect the virtual memory paging behavior of a process.

The Systems Management Server Executive service is the most resource intensive process in Systems Management Server. The settings described in this article are for the Systems Management Server Executive process. Although the settings differ, the information in this article can also be applied to other Systems Management Server processes such as the Hierarchy Manager, Site Configuration Manager, Package Command Manager, and Inventory Agent.

MORE INFORMATION

The operating system allocates Working Set sizes on a first-come, first- served basis. For example, if an application successfully sets 40 megabytes as its minimum Working Set size on a 64-MB system, and a second application requests a 40-MB Working Set size, the operating system denies the second application's request.

Using this capability to set an application's Working Set size does not guarantee that the requested memory will be reserved, or that it will remain resident at all times. When the application is idle, or a low-memory situation causes a demand for memory, the operating system can reduce the application's Working Set.

The net result of establishing an appropriate Working Set for a process is that whenever the system can allow it, a [WorkingSet] amount of the process' data will be resident in physical memory for greater speed.

To Manually Set The SMS Executive Working Set

WARNING: Using the Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious, system- wide problems that may require you to reinstall Windows NT to correct them. Microsoft cannot guarantee that any problems resulting from the use of the Registry Editor can be solved. Use this tool at your own risk.

In the Registry Editor, traverse to this key:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\SMS\Components\SMS_Executive

   Working Set Limit (DWORD)

In situations where a lot of RAM is available (40+ MB), this should be set to at least 6 MB (600000 hex). For systems at the low end, the value should be about 4 MB. There is no upper limit to the value you can set here, but it should seldom be greater than 7 MB.

You cannot use values less than 2 MB or the Systems Management Server Executive will set the Working Set back to the auto-tuned value. After you change the value, you must restart the Systems Management Server Executive. If you do not override the Systems Management Server Executive Working Set size, it will automatically self-scale depending on the amount of physical RAM available.

Resetting the Working Set, may still be necessary, since having many other processes running could still render these figures invalid.

The defaults are:

Physical RAM        Working Set

28 MB or less       3.5 MB
29-33 MB            4.5 MB
33-41 MB            5.5 MB
More than 41 MB     6.5 MB