HiveBrain v1.2.0
Get Started
← Back to all entries
patternsqlMajor

Memory Usage by SQL Server

Submitted by: @import:stackexchange-dba··
0
Viewed 0 times
sqlusagememoryserver

Problem

How do i check memory usage by my SQL server in production box.
I am using SQL Server 2016.When ever i check task manager,it shows above 90%.
I don't think that is the real memory usage by sql server.

I have a SQL performance tool grafana which shows CPU usage very less than what i see in task manager.
I checked Resource Monitor,there is can see Average CPU value.I am confused as to which is the SQL server memory usage.
I am trying to determine if memory pressure is an issue to some of my problem.

Can someone direct to a good/proper explanation.

Solution

'I am trying to determine if memory pressure is an issue to some of my problem.'

very useful script:
https://github.com/ktaranov/sqlserver-kit/blob/master/Scripts/SQLServer_Memory_Information.sql

you see verbose memory utilization:

https://www.sqlskills.com/blogs/glenn/sql-server-diagnostic-information-queries-for-november-2017/
SQL Server 2017 Diagnostic Information Queries:

see comment

-- Page Life Expectancy (PLE) value for each NUMA node in current instance  (Query 46) (PLE by NUMA Node)
SELECT @@SERVERNAME AS [Server Name], RTRIM([object_name]) AS [Object Name], instance_name, cntr_value AS [Page Life Expectancy]
FROM sys.dm_os_performance_counters WITH (NOLOCK)
WHERE [object_name] LIKE N'%Buffer Node%' -- Handles named instances
AND counter_name = N'Page life expectancy' OPTION (RECOMPILE);
------

-- PLE is a good measurement of internal memory pressure
-- Higher PLE is better. Watch the trend over time, not the absolute value


(Query 14)

-- Good basic information about OS memory amounts and state  (Query 14) (System Memory)
SELECT total_physical_memory_kb/1024 AS [Physical Memory (MB)], 
       available_physical_memory_kb/1024 AS [Available Memory (MB)], 
       total_page_file_kb/1024 AS [Total Page File (MB)], 
       available_page_file_kb/1024 AS [Available Page File (MB)], 
       system_cache_kb/1024 AS [System Cache (MB)],
       system_memory_state_desc AS [System Memory State]
FROM sys.dm_os_sys_memory WITH (NOLOCK) OPTION (RECOMPILE);
------

-- You want to see "Available physical memory is high" for System Memory State
-- This indicates that you are not under external memory pressure

-- Possible System Memory State values:
-- Available physical memory is high
-- Physical memory usage is steady
-- Available physical memory is low
-- Available physical memory is running low
-- Physical memory state is transitioning


(47)

-- Memory Grants Pending value for current instance  (Query 47) (Memory Grants Pending)
SELECT @@SERVERNAME AS [Server Name], RTRIM([object_name]) AS [Object Name], cntr_value AS [Memory Grants Pending]
FROM sys.dm_os_performance_counters WITH (NOLOCK)
WHERE [object_name] LIKE N'%Memory Manager%' -- Handles named instances
AND counter_name = N'Memory Grants Pending' OPTION (RECOMPILE);
------

-- Run multiple times, and run periodically if you suspect you are under memory pressure
-- Memory Grants Pending above zero for a sustained period is a very strong indicator of internal memory pressure


(62)

-- Top Cached SPs By Total Logical Reads. Logical reads relate to memory pressure  (Query 62) (SP Logical Reads)
SELECT TOP(25) p.name AS [SP Name], qs.total_logical_reads AS [TotalLogicalReads], 
qs.total_logical_reads/qs.execution_count AS [AvgLogicalReads],qs.execution_count, 
ISNULL(qs.execution_count/DATEDIFF(Minute, qs.cached_time, GETDATE()), 0) AS [Calls/Minute], 
qs.total_elapsed_time, qs.total_elapsed_time/qs.execution_count AS [avg_elapsed_time],
CASE WHEN CONVERT(nvarchar(max), qp.query_plan) LIKE N'%%' THEN 1 ELSE 0 END AS [Has Missing Index], 
FORMAT(qs.last_execution_time, 'yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss', 'en-US') AS [Last Execution Time], 
FORMAT(qs.cached_time, 'yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss', 'en-US') AS [Plan Cached Time]
-- ,qp.query_plan AS [Query Plan] -- Uncomment if you want the Query Plan
FROM sys.procedures AS p WITH (NOLOCK)
INNER JOIN sys.dm_exec_procedure_stats AS qs WITH (NOLOCK)
ON p.[object_id] = qs.[object_id]
CROSS APPLY sys.dm_exec_query_plan(qs.plan_handle) AS qp
WHERE qs.database_id = DB_ID()
AND DATEDIFF(Minute, qs.cached_time, GETDATE()) > 0
ORDER BY qs.total_logical_reads DESC OPTION (RECOMPILE);
------

-- This helps you find the most expensive cached stored procedures from a memory perspective
-- You should look at this if you see signs of memory pressure


(63)

```
-- Top Cached SPs By Total Physical Reads. Physical reads relate to disk read I/O pressure (Query 63) (SP Physical Reads)
SELECT TOP(25) p.name AS [SP Name],qs.total_physical_reads AS [TotalPhysicalReads],
qs.total_physical_reads/qs.execution_count AS [AvgPhysicalReads], qs.execution_count,
qs.total_logical_reads,qs.total_elapsed_time, qs.total_elapsed_time/qs.execution_count AS [avg_elapsed_time],
CASE WHEN CONVERT(nvarchar(max), qp.query_plan) LIKE N'%%' THEN 1 ELSE 0 END AS [Has Missing Index],
FORMAT(qs.last_execution_time, 'yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss', 'en-US') AS [Last Execution Time],
FORMAT(qs.cached_time, 'yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss', 'en-US') AS [Plan Cached Time]
-- ,qp.query_plan AS [Query Plan] -- Uncomment if you want the Query Plan
FROM sys.procedures AS p WITH (NOLOCK)
INNER JOIN sys.dm_exec_procedure_stats AS qs WITH (NOLOCK)
ON p.[object_id] = qs.[object_id]
CROSS APPLY sys.dm_exec_query_plan(qs.plan_handle) AS qp
WHERE qs.database_id = DB_ID()
AND qs.total_physical_reads > 0
ORDER BY qs.total_physical_reads DESC, qs.total_logical_reads DESC OPTION (RECOMPILE);
------

-- This helps you find the most expensive cached stored procedures fr

Code Snippets

-- Page Life Expectancy (PLE) value for each NUMA node in current instance  (Query 46) (PLE by NUMA Node)
SELECT @@SERVERNAME AS [Server Name], RTRIM([object_name]) AS [Object Name], instance_name, cntr_value AS [Page Life Expectancy]
FROM sys.dm_os_performance_counters WITH (NOLOCK)
WHERE [object_name] LIKE N'%Buffer Node%' -- Handles named instances
AND counter_name = N'Page life expectancy' OPTION (RECOMPILE);
------

-- PLE is a good measurement of internal memory pressure
-- Higher PLE is better. Watch the trend over time, not the absolute value
-- Good basic information about OS memory amounts and state  (Query 14) (System Memory)
SELECT total_physical_memory_kb/1024 AS [Physical Memory (MB)], 
       available_physical_memory_kb/1024 AS [Available Memory (MB)], 
       total_page_file_kb/1024 AS [Total Page File (MB)], 
       available_page_file_kb/1024 AS [Available Page File (MB)], 
       system_cache_kb/1024 AS [System Cache (MB)],
       system_memory_state_desc AS [System Memory State]
FROM sys.dm_os_sys_memory WITH (NOLOCK) OPTION (RECOMPILE);
------

-- You want to see "Available physical memory is high" for System Memory State
-- This indicates that you are not under external memory pressure

-- Possible System Memory State values:
-- Available physical memory is high
-- Physical memory usage is steady
-- Available physical memory is low
-- Available physical memory is running low
-- Physical memory state is transitioning
-- Memory Grants Pending value for current instance  (Query 47) (Memory Grants Pending)
SELECT @@SERVERNAME AS [Server Name], RTRIM([object_name]) AS [Object Name], cntr_value AS [Memory Grants Pending]
FROM sys.dm_os_performance_counters WITH (NOLOCK)
WHERE [object_name] LIKE N'%Memory Manager%' -- Handles named instances
AND counter_name = N'Memory Grants Pending' OPTION (RECOMPILE);
------

-- Run multiple times, and run periodically if you suspect you are under memory pressure
-- Memory Grants Pending above zero for a sustained period is a very strong indicator of internal memory pressure
-- Top Cached SPs By Total Logical Reads. Logical reads relate to memory pressure  (Query 62) (SP Logical Reads)
SELECT TOP(25) p.name AS [SP Name], qs.total_logical_reads AS [TotalLogicalReads], 
qs.total_logical_reads/qs.execution_count AS [AvgLogicalReads],qs.execution_count, 
ISNULL(qs.execution_count/DATEDIFF(Minute, qs.cached_time, GETDATE()), 0) AS [Calls/Minute], 
qs.total_elapsed_time, qs.total_elapsed_time/qs.execution_count AS [avg_elapsed_time],
CASE WHEN CONVERT(nvarchar(max), qp.query_plan) LIKE N'%<MissingIndexes>%' THEN 1 ELSE 0 END AS [Has Missing Index], 
FORMAT(qs.last_execution_time, 'yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss', 'en-US') AS [Last Execution Time], 
FORMAT(qs.cached_time, 'yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss', 'en-US') AS [Plan Cached Time]
-- ,qp.query_plan AS [Query Plan] -- Uncomment if you want the Query Plan
FROM sys.procedures AS p WITH (NOLOCK)
INNER JOIN sys.dm_exec_procedure_stats AS qs WITH (NOLOCK)
ON p.[object_id] = qs.[object_id]
CROSS APPLY sys.dm_exec_query_plan(qs.plan_handle) AS qp
WHERE qs.database_id = DB_ID()
AND DATEDIFF(Minute, qs.cached_time, GETDATE()) > 0
ORDER BY qs.total_logical_reads DESC OPTION (RECOMPILE);
------

-- This helps you find the most expensive cached stored procedures from a memory perspective
-- You should look at this if you see signs of memory pressure
-- Top Cached SPs By Total Physical Reads. Physical reads relate to disk read I/O pressure  (Query 63) (SP Physical Reads)
SELECT TOP(25) p.name AS [SP Name],qs.total_physical_reads AS [TotalPhysicalReads], 
qs.total_physical_reads/qs.execution_count AS [AvgPhysicalReads], qs.execution_count, 
qs.total_logical_reads,qs.total_elapsed_time, qs.total_elapsed_time/qs.execution_count AS [avg_elapsed_time],
CASE WHEN CONVERT(nvarchar(max), qp.query_plan) LIKE N'%<MissingIndexes>%' THEN 1 ELSE 0 END AS [Has Missing Index],
FORMAT(qs.last_execution_time, 'yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss', 'en-US') AS [Last Execution Time], 
FORMAT(qs.cached_time, 'yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss', 'en-US') AS [Plan Cached Time]
-- ,qp.query_plan AS [Query Plan] -- Uncomment if you want the Query Plan 
FROM sys.procedures AS p WITH (NOLOCK)
INNER JOIN sys.dm_exec_procedure_stats AS qs WITH (NOLOCK)
ON p.[object_id] = qs.[object_id]
CROSS APPLY sys.dm_exec_query_plan(qs.plan_handle) AS qp
WHERE qs.database_id = DB_ID()
AND qs.total_physical_reads > 0
ORDER BY qs.total_physical_reads DESC, qs.total_logical_reads DESC OPTION (RECOMPILE);
------

-- This helps you find the most expensive cached stored procedures from a read I/O perspective
-- You should look at this if you see signs of I/O pressure or of memory pressure

Context

StackExchange Database Administrators Q#213010, answer score: 22

Revisions (0)

No revisions yet.