Configuring HP SIM for Optimal Performance in Large Environments
Microsoft
Windows
2008 x32
is
a
32-bit
operating
system.
By
default,
it
can
support
only
up
to
4
GB
of memory
(2
GB
for
the
operating
system
and
2
GB
for
user
applications).
In
a
practical
sense,
this
generally
means
that
Microsoft
SQL
Server
is
limited
to
2
GB
of
RAM.
In
many
cases,
this
is
more than
enough
RAM
for
Microsoft
SQL
Server.
See
Configuring
Microsoft
Windows
Server
2008
to
use PAE.
Microsoft
SQL
Server
Express
When
installing
HP
SIM,
you
can
install
and
use
Microsoft
SQL
Server
Express.
There
are
important
considerations
to
keep
in
mind
when
choosing
this
option,
especially
when
planning
performance
tuning.
SQL
Server
Express
is
limited
to
1
GB
of
RAM,
one
processor,
a
4
GB
database
size,
and runs
in
Windows
on
Windows
(WOW)
mode
on
a
64-bit
platform.
Therefore,
there
might
not
be
a
significant
benefit
in
upgrading
system
memory,
CPU,
or
storage
size
when
using
SQL
Server
Express.
In
addition,
if
Systems Insight Manager
is
managing
many
systems,
events,
or
performing
historical
data
collection,
HP recommends
that
you
do
not
use
SQL
Server
Express,
and
instead
use
a
more
capable
version
of
SQL Server.
Configuring
Microsoft
SQL
Server
2008
x32
to
use
AWE
memory
Even
though
Microsoft
Windows
2008
x32
can
use
the
AWE
memory,
you
must
configure
Microsoft
SQL Server
2008
x32
appropriately.
AWE
Support
must
be
enabled:
To
enable
AWE
memory
on
Microsoft
SQL
Server,
enter
the
following
commands:
sp configure
'show
advanced
options',
1
RECONFIGURE GO
sp configure
'awe
enabled',
1
RECONFIGURE GO
After
SQL
Server
restarts,
the
following
message
appears
in
the
SQL
Server
error
log:
Address
Windowing
Extensions
enabled
.
Because
the
awe
enabled
option
is
an
advanced
option,
you
must
first
permit
advanced
options
to
be
set
by
running
the
show
advanced
options
option,
as
shown
above.
IMPORTANT:
To use AWE memory, you must run the Microsoft SQL Server 2008
mssqlserver service under a Microsoft Windows 2008 account that has
been assigned the Microsoft Windows 2008 lock pages in memory
permission. Microsoft SQL Server Setup automatically grants the
mssqlserver service account permission to use the Lock Page in Memory
option. If you start an instance of Microsoft SQL Server 2008 from the
command prompt using sqlservr.exe, you must manually assign this right to
the interactive user's account using the Microsoft Windows Group Policy
utility, or Microsoft SQL Server will be unable to use AWE memory when
run from the command prompt.
Note:
If you are clustering Microsoft SQL Servers that use AWE memory, it is
important that all the servers in the cluster have the same amount of RAM
and have their settings configured identically, otherwise, a failover
operation may not be successful.
If
you
have
successfully
enabled
AWE
memory,
the
message
Address
Windowing
Extension enabled
appears
in
the
Microsoft
SQL
Server
error
log
when
Microsoft
SQL
Server
is
started.