title: SQL memory - viewing actual memory used and Memory available
body: <p>I've done some research and came across a few different ways to see how much memory SQL Server is actually using (since Task manager isn't accurate, as SQL will reserve as much memory as it can for itself)</p>
  
  <p>I found these two resources to be the most useful:</p>
  
  <p><a href="https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1289558/how-much-ram-is-sql-server-actually-using">How much RAM is SQL Server actually using?</a></p>
  
  <p><a href="https://stackoverflow.com/questions/2810781/how-to-analyze-dbcc-memorystatus-result-in-sql-server-2008">How to analyze &#39;dbcc memorystatus&#39; result in SQL Server 2008</a></p>
  
  <p>However, the struggle I'm having is that when I try both methods on the same server, I'm having trouble correlating the numbers.</p>
  
  <p>I get very different results from the performance counters (SQL memory manager -- total server memory and target server memory)  compared to query "dbcc memorystatus" VM Reserved and VM Committed.</p>
  
  <p>They both appear to be listed in "KB" yet the numbers are not anywhere close.  Maybe I'm not looking at the right results (maybe VM reserved / committed isn't a physical memory reading and the counter is? But then in this case, where in the SQL query does it show the amount of memory SQL is using / reserving , as none of the results seem like numbers that correspond with the performance counters)</p>
  
  <p>If anyone can give me some guidance, bearing in mind I'm not very experienced in SQL performance monitoring, I'd really appreciate it.</p>
  
  <p>Thank you in advance.</p>