Score:0

What is a good indicator that a server does not have enough RAM?

mx flag

I am the "application owner" of a server (ie. I am responsible for running and maintaining the application running on the server).

The VM has 8GB of RAM, as was recommended when the application was first installed, but in the latest version recommendations, 32GB are indicated.

The ops team is relunctant to quadruple the RAM, as the server is only using 30 to 40% of its 8GB of RAM today.

Is used RAM the only useful metric to decide whether a server needs more RAM, or is there any other parameters I should look at to make the call?

joeqwerty avatar
cv flag
Performance tuning is as much art as it is science. That being said, what is the vendor recommendation for the version you're ACTUALLY running? What does the vendor recommend regarding performance monitoring of their application? Additionally, if the server is using 30-40% of it's existing RAM then I'd say that's a pretty good indicator that it doesn't need additional RAM.
Maxime avatar
mx flag
@joeqwerty We're up to date, so thet recommend 32GB now. Regarding performance monitoring, no guidelines, just 'use the recommended specs, you'll be gone, if you don't, all bets are off'.
Score:-1
in flag

Assuming you're on a *nix system I would make sure the swap is not used (or at most barely touched) when the app is used with normal load. If the machine is heavily swapping you can certainly make your case with the ops team.

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