Notification Server 7 and AWE Memory
I wanted to post this here before logging a call for support.
We are in the first stages of deploying our new NS which has been outfitted with 12 GB of memory. I was reviewing the specs for the person deploying the server and noticed that in article 45597 it says to enable AWE memory for the Notification Server in large environments (which is what we have).
A look through the NS 7 SP2 installation guide shows no instructions on how to configure this on any platform. Doing some more KB digging I found KB article # 3977, but it has no explicit instructions for Windows Server 2003 SP2. My assumption is the instructions are similar.
I am a little confused because 3977 appears to be configuration settings to account for on box SQL, but that is said to not be supported for large environments. If this is the case, then why is AWE memory listed as a suggestion in 45597? Is it even something the NS application supports? It's a shame that the NS still does not support 64 bit operating systems.
Comments
You're Right
AWE can only be used by 32-bit SQL Server, which would mean that it would have to be installed on the same server as NS. I agree that the articles are a bit confusing...
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Principal SQA Engineer
Symantec
That KB should probably be
That KB should probably be updated.
Why is so much memory recommended for the NS if only 32 bit Operating Systems are supported for the Notification Server installs?
In process...
I've notified some internal people to get that information updated.
If you are using Server 2003 Enterprise or Datacenter Edition, then it can and will use memory above 4GB. However, you need to make sure that Physical Address Extension is in use (by default I believe it is) - this, in return, gives you 36-bit addressing, which gives you access to memory up to 32GB (Enterprise) and 64GB (Datacenter), respectively. Additionally, you need to add the /3GB switch which expands the user (or "application") space to 3GB. Be careful when adding the /3GB switch as your Free System Page Table Entries might get dangerously low...you can use the /userva switch to smooth that out.
If you are using Server 2003 Standard then anything above 4GB is a waste...
Here's some more info:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/283037
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Principal SQA Engineer
Symantec
Looks like a KB article was
Looks like a KB article was added or updated: https://kb.altiris.com/article.asp?article=25079&p=1
Thanks for getting this going. We have made the suggested changes.
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