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I have the following server

Windows Storage Server 2008 x64 SP2 Xeon L5520 @ 2.27 12GB RAM DAS MD1000i running RAID10 15k SAS drives.

It is running DFS as a file server for ~100 users

Memory usage on this server keeps increasing without showing what is using the RAM in process explorer and taskmanager.

I have private bytes and working set columns showing

Over the span of a week (starting at around 3GB used) the RAM usage gets to the point where the system no longer has enough resources and no longer responds.

Process Explorer currently shows physical usage at 80%, but I can only account for ~2GB of RAM being used.

I've mostly used Server 2003 in the past and starting to use 2008, am I missing something here?


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13% Accept Rate, none of those 8 questions had good answers? –  Chris S Aug 19 '10 at 18:35
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5 Answers

up vote 3 down vote accepted

Boardcom NIC teaming using BACS was causing this to happen. Switched to teaming Intels and issue was resolved.

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Good to see you found a solution. How did you identify that it was BACS? –  Sim Jan 4 '12 at 22:30
We basically pulled everything from the machine and there was only BACS left - still giving us the issue. We had some Intels - removed BACS - switched to the Intels and issue was gone. We also tried to team with Intel and Broadcom NICS using BACS and the issue was still there. Note - we are teaming Broadcom NICS elsewhere using BACS with no issues at all. –  Kvad Jan 6 '12 at 0:07
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It sounds like you might have a memory leak in the Kernel Memory Pools, either the paged or nonpaged pools, most likely caused by a driver. These types of memory leaks won't show up in Process Explorer or Task Manager, though you can use Process Explorer to show the Kernel Memory usage of the paged and nonpaged pools as a guide.

Have a read of the following as a guide to understanding and identifying what might be happening:

The gist of these is use to PoolMon from the Windows Driver Kit to try and pinpoint what is causing the leak. The following Microsft KB How to use Memory Pool Monitor (Poolmon.exe) to troubleshoot kernel mode memory leaks will walk you through how to use PoolMon.

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I would start with An Overview of Troubleshooting Memory Issues. Take some Perfmon logs and analyze them, it should be non-page pool issue and you can then follow the article Part 1 and Part 2

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Have you applied any updates to Windows Storage Server 2008 beyond SP2?

There are a couple of known memory leaks that are fixed in update 1 - see Known Issues and Updates for Windows Storage Server 2008 for more info.

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How do I go abouts getting those updates? Using windows updates and wsus does not find them. –  Kvad Jun 29 '10 at 1:01
Sorry I don't know where to get the updates from or at least I can't find them. Did you buy this as an OEM appliance, if so then probably from the OEM?? –  Sim Jun 29 '10 at 2:52
If you follow the steps in my other answer you might get a better picture of if you have a memory leak and where it is located. Using that info you could then target any drivers (e.g. Storport) or software that might be more easily found. –  Sim Jun 30 '10 at 2:02
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This is a weak answer, but have you checked with your hardware vendor for driver / firmware updates? Also, have you checked their KB for memory issues? Use your support contracts! (I.e. Make it someone else's problem!)


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Yes, working with Dell atm trying to eliminate everything under the sun. The main delay is the server is in production and can't exactly be taken down whenever ;) –  Kvad Aug 25 '10 at 4:00
Completely understood! –  gWaldo Aug 25 '10 at 4:43
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