How do I know if my sql server needs more memroy ?

Hi,
We have an OLTP system with 600+ connections, 30 gb database running on a
4 CPU and 4.2gb memory, out of which 3.5 gb is allocated to SQL Server (usin
g
fixed memory). SQL Server is on its own dedicated machine.
Our clients are complaining about performance. Disk utilization is around
50%.Memory util always says 90% since I've set it to use 'fixed' memory. Ho
w
do I tell if the sql server needs more memory ?
TIA
MOThe following describes how to use Performance Monitor and performance
related SQL Server Profiler traces. In regard to available memory, keep in
mind that it is normal and beneficial for SQL Server to dynamically buffer
almost all the memory allocated to it, and it's excessive memory paging and
a poor cache hit ratio that you want to look for.
SQL Server 2000 Administrator's Pocket Consultant: Profiling and Monitoring
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/pr...s/c10ppcsq.mspx
SQL Server 2000 Operations Guide: Monitoring and Control
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/pr...in/sqlops5.mspx
Chapter 14 - Improving SQL Server Performance
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/d...
etchapt14.asp
"MO" <MO@.discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:1E532BC5-08AC-4651-A9E5-A313E3C80C0A@.microsoft.com...
> Hi,
> We have an OLTP system with 600+ connections, 30 gb database running on a
> 4 CPU and 4.2gb memory, out of which 3.5 gb is allocated to SQL Server
> (using
> fixed memory). SQL Server is on its own dedicated machine.
> Our clients are complaining about performance. Disk utilization is around
> 50%.Memory util always says 90% since I've set it to use 'fixed' memory.
> How
> do I tell if the sql server needs more memory ?
> TIA
> MO|||MO wrote:
> Hi,
> We have an OLTP system with 600+ connections, 30 gb database running
> on a 4 CPU and 4.2gb memory, out of which 3.5 gb is allocated to SQL
> Server (using fixed memory). SQL Server is on its own dedicated
> machine.
> Our clients are complaining about performance. Disk utilization is
> around 50%.Memory util always says 90% since I've set it to use
> 'fixed' memory. How do I tell if the sql server needs more memory ?
> TIA
> MO
You also need to look at your disk subsytem and how you are using it
with SQL Server. The wrong RAID solution or poor placement of data, log,
and tempdb can all play into bad overall performance. As always, I first
recommend you performance tune your SQL. Bad SQL = Bad performance,
regardless of how much hardware you throw at it.
David Gugick - SQL Server MVP
Quest Software|||Ditto with that bad sql. I now have to go back fix all my bad SQL that I
wrote few years ago. The performance has been improving and no new hardware
upgraded was needed.
"David Gugick" <david.gugick-nospam@.quest.com> wrote in message
news:uC6D8RDKGHA.312@.TK2MSFTNGP09.phx.gbl...
> MO wrote:
> You also need to look at your disk subsytem and how you are using it with
> SQL Server. The wrong RAID solution or poor placement of data, log, and
> tempdb can all play into bad overall performance. As always, I first
> recommend you performance tune your SQL. Bad SQL = Bad performance,
> regardless of how much hardware you throw at it.
> --
> David Gugick - SQL Server MVP
> Quest Software
>|||In addition to upgrading hardware or optimizing your queries / transactions,
you may want to even consider architectural changes to your database model.
If your OLTP system is currently the data source for data mining, financial
reporting, or other types of resource intensive queries that would block
daily operations type transactions, then perhaps the queries could instead
be performed against a standby or reporting server.
http://vyaskn.tripod.com/maintainin..._sql_server.htm
Understanding and Resolving SQL Server Blocking Problems:
http://support.microsoft.com/defaul...kb;EN-US;224453
Is it really necessary to retain 30 GB of (historical?) data in an online
transaction processing (OLTP) system? If this is an operational system, then
perhaps you only need the current month's worth of data, and the remaining
data can be migrated to an operational data store (ODS) database or server.
The Operational Data Store:
http://www.dmreview.com/article_sub.cfm?articleId=469
Using Partitions in a Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Data Warehouse
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/d...nDW.
htm
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/pr.../2005/spdw.mspx
"MO" <MO@.discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:1E532BC5-08AC-4651-A9E5-A313E3C80C0A@.microsoft.com...
> Hi,
> We have an OLTP system with 600+ connections, 30 gb database running on a
> 4 CPU and 4.2gb memory, out of which 3.5 gb is allocated to SQL Server
> (using
> fixed memory). SQL Server is on its own dedicated machine.
> Our clients are complaining about performance. Disk utilization is around
> 50%.Memory util always says 90% since I've set it to use 'fixed' memory.
> How
> do I tell if the sql server needs more memory ?
> TIA
> MO