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Minimum server memory is the amount of allocated memory the SQL Server reserves for the database. This memory allocation setting helps the database administrator optimize performance. Analysis of memory usage from the operating system and other applications is required to accurately define the minimum server memory setting. If you set the minimum server memory value too high, operating system performance may be impacted leading to lower overall performance.
Before we modified the minimum server memory parameter, we used the default value setting of zero. A default of zero allows the SQL Server to dynamically manage the amount of memory.
The minimal server memory was changed from the default value to 360,448 MB (352 GB).
Maximum server memory is the maximum amount of memory an SQL Server can use. Setting the maximum server value limits the amount of memory the database can use. The difference between minimum and maximum server values defines the amount of memory SQL Server can dynamically use. For example, if the minimum is set to 64 GB and the maximum to 128 GB, the SQL Server can dynamically use 64 GB (64 – 128 = 64). Dell highly recommends that you the operating system and other application memory usage to ensure that the database has no impact on the overall system.
The maximum server memory was set to a value of 360,448 MB (352 GB). By setting the maximum and minimum server memory values to 352 GB, the database allocates all the memory and exceeds the 352 GB memory configuration. Best practice recommends following the 80% rule for the SQL Server Max memory leaving 20 percent to the operating system, which is the default for SQL Server running on Linux.