App Control : SQL Server Consumes High Memory in a Single-Tier Environment

Products

• Carbon Black App Control (formerly Cb Protection)

Issue/Introduction

• SQL Server consumes high memory in a single tier environment
• SQL Server is using up all the available memory on the server host

Environment

• App Control Server: All Supported Versions
• Microsoft SQL Server: All Supported Versions

Cause

The memory limit for SQL Server is set at the default, unlimited. According to Microsoft:

By default, a SQL Server instance may over time consume most of the available Windows operating system memory in the server.
Once the memory is acquired, it will not be released unless memory pressure is detected. This is by design and does not indicate a memory leak in the SQL Server process.

Resolution

Adjust the SQL Server Maximum Memory as outlined in this article to below the total system RAM, and to match the requirements specified in the App Control Memory Configuration guide.

Additional Information

• The SQL Server Memory Configuration can be found in VMware Docs > Server Documentation > SQL Server Configuration Guide > SQL Permissions & Memory Configuration.
• SQL Express has a built-in memory cap of 1GB
• SQL Server will use all memory assigned to it.