GemFire: High Memory Usage on a Few GemFire Servers

Products

• VMware Tanzu Gemfire

Issue/Introduction

When using GemFire with partitioned regions, it is possible to observe high memory usage on a subset of GemFire servers. In some cases, memory consumption may grow to the point of reaching critical thresholds on specific nodes, even though others remain underutilized.

Cause

This issue typically occurs due to uneven data distribution across the cluster. It is especially common when working with session-related data, where certain keys may be concentrated on specific members, leading to an imbalance in heap usage.

Resolution

To ensure even data distribution and balanced heap usage across all GemFire servers, follow the steps outlined in the following Knowledge Base article:
How to rebalance your partitioned region

Rebalancing the partitioned region helps redistribute data uniformly, preventing heap overuse on individual servers and improving overall cluster stability.