XADM: Resource Failure Error on Computers with More Than 800 MB of RAM

ID: Q195006

The information in this article applies to:

SYMPTOMS

On a very active Exchange Server computer with more than 800 megabytes (MB) of RAM, Exchange Server may start logging the following error message:

Event ID: 1160
Source: MSExchangeIS
Type: Error
Description: Database resource failure error Out of memory occurred in function "JTAB_BASE::EcCreateIndex" while accessing the database.
NOTE: The items enclosed in double quotes above may differ from case to case.


CAUSE

Exchange Server is attempting to allocate more virtual memory than is available within the process.

The Windows NT virtual memory address space is 4 gigabytes (GB) in size for each process. This implies that no matter how much physical memory is installed, a single process has access to only 4 GB of address space. In addition, Windows NT divides virtual memory into that which is used by the kernel, and that which is accessible to user-mode (for the application). In standard Windows NT Server 4.0, a user-mode application (like Store.exe) has access to 2 GB of virtual memory, and the kernel uses the other 2 GB. In Windows NT 4.0 Enterprise Edition, a user-mode application has access to 3 GB of virtual memory, and the kernel gets 1 GB.

All memory allocations for a process come out of the 2 or 3 GB available in the address space. The address space is not empty when a process loads, many elements take up space in it immediately. The code itself is loaded into virtual memory (Store.exe and all the DLLs); a system heap is allocated from this virtual memory; for every thread created, a 1 MB virtual memory allocation (typically) is created for the thread stack, and so on.

The net result is that for an individual process, the process will not be able to allocate a full 2 or 3 GB of virtual memory because some of it is in use.

The Exchange Server 5.5 Performance Wizard (Perfwiz) makes calculations about how much virtual memory will be used by using the amount of physical RAM as an indicator. When 2 GB of RAM is physically installed, Perfwiz will assume that it can allocate up to 2 GB of virtual memory for a process. This amount of virtual memory may not be free in a process's address space, so attempting to allocate this much virtual memory may fail.


RESOLUTION

A supported fix that corrects this problem is now available from Microsoft, but it has not been fully regression tested and should be applied only to systems experiencing this specific problem. If you are not severely affected by this specific problem, Microsoft recommends that you wait for the next Microsoft Exchange Server version 5.5 service pack that contains this fix.

To resolve this problem immediately, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the fix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information on support costs, please go to the following address on the World Wide Web:

http://www.microsoft.com/support/supportnet/overview/overview.asp
The English version of this fix should have the following file attributes or later:

Component: Administrator Program

File name Version
Perfwiz.exe 5.5.2527.0



NOTE: If this product was already installed on your computer when you purchased it from the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and you need this fix, please call the Pay Per Incident number listed on the above Web site. If you contact Microsoft to obtain this fix, and if it is determined that you only require the fix you requested, no fee will be charged. However, if you request additional technical support, and if your no-charge technical support period has expired, or if you are not eligible for standard no-charge technical support, you may be charged a non-refundable fee.

For more information about eligibility for no-charge technical support, see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q154871 Determining If You Are Eligible for No-Charge Technical Support


STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Exchange Server version 5.5.

Additional query words: performance optimizer 


Keywords          : 
Version           : winnt:5.5
Platform          : winnt 
Issue type        : kbbug

Last Reviewed: August 3, 1999