How much memory is needed per user?

D

DarkCyber

[H]ard|Gawd
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May 14, 2003
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I have a computer that is running a program (Smart's Traffic and Billing) that has a database that others can connect to across my LAN. Usually the only users in this database are the one on the main computer and one more via the LAN. Some times when doing some things in it via the LAN it is really, really slow. I upgraded my network from a 10/100 to a gigabit network and that did not seem to help. I have upgraded the speed of my computers and that didn't seem to help much.

So, now to my question. What is the minimum amount of memory I should have in the main computer and in the client computer for things to work at the best speed? This is a kind of broad question for memory per user for networking I guess...for lack of a better description.
 
It's really impossible for any of us to answer; the application is the largest variable in the equation. You should call the vendor and find out what they recommend.

Generically speaking, a 2-user database and application shouldn't require much ( and certainly not raid )....but we could be talking about data sets over 10GB in size. We could be talking about an app developed by a software house with no clear idea of what indexes are for ( oh yes, I've seen these ). The application itself could be a clever application of batch files for all we know.

Contact the vendor, find out what they recommend. If you want to do it yourself, you'll need a deep understanding of databases and the ability to hook up a profiler-like application to see what calls the app is making to the database.
 
Yeah more information needed.
What else is this server doing? Is it busy doing Exchange? Busy running other system resource hogging things?
Is the database installed in a config that allows it to perform better on the hard drives? On it's own dedicated RAID volume...separate from the OS and other stuff?
Antivirus setup correctly on it with exclusions?
Have you looked at task manager and CPU and RAM usage during production hours to figure out that more memory is needed? Maybe more CPU is needed. Maybe faster disks are needed...database...done the right thing and have them on 15krpm drives?
 
YeOldeStonecat said:
Yeah more information needed.
What else is this server doing? Is it busy doing Exchange? Busy running other system resource hogging things?
Is the database installed in a config that allows it to perform better on the hard drives? On it's own dedicated RAID volume...separate from the OS and other stuff?
Antivirus setup correctly on it with exclusions?
Have you looked at task manager and CPU and RAM usage during production hours to figure out that more memory is needed? Maybe more CPU is needed. Maybe faster disks are needed...database...done the right thing and have them on 15krpm drives?
Click to expand...
Good point; Performance manager is your friend, fire it up and see what's going on. Among other stats you can get, Avg. Disk Queue length, which gives you good info on how busy your disks are handling requests ( ie: whether raid would help or not ).
 
This is not a dedicated server. This is a desktop computer running the application with another desktop computer accessing it via gigabit LAN. The actually database is 230,000 KB.

I did have the main program and database on my computer and recently changed it to the other one to see if that made things any faster. Here are the specs:

Computer 1 (where database is located)

Dell Inspiron 545S
Intel Pentium Wolfdale E5300 Dual Core 2.60 Ghz
4 GB DDR2 Dual Channel
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit
WD 6400AAKS-75a7B2 ATA Hard Drive
Gigabit LAN

Computer 2 (Client PC now)
Custom Built
AMD Phenom II X4 965 Deneb 3.4 Ghz
4 GB DD2 Dual Channel
Windows 7 Pro 64 Bit
Seagate Barracuda ST3750640AS hard drive
Gigabit LAN

I am just trying to determine whether I have enough memory in each or if increasing the memory would help anything. This setup works great except in just a couple of things.
 
The best way to find out is to contact the vendor, but there are some basic steps we can go through;

When the app is running, look at the free memory on both the 'server' and the 'client'. If you have free memory, then adding more won't help. When using the app, check the CPU on both the 'client' and 'server'. You'll have to use your judgement here, but I find that unless the CPU is pegged for more than 5-10 seconds, most CPUs are fine ( and even then, it depends on the usage profile ). Again while using the app, check the disk queue and bandwidth.

I highly recommend contacting the vendor before making any purchases however.
 
XOR != OR said:
The best way to find out is to contact the vendor, but there are some basic steps we can go through;

When the app is running, look at the free memory on both the 'server' and the 'client'. If you have free memory, then adding more won't help. When using the app, check the CPU on both the 'client' and 'server'. You'll have to use your judgement here, but I find that unless the CPU is pegged for more than 5-10 seconds, most CPUs are fine ( and even then, it depends on the usage profile ). Again while using the app, check the disk queue and bandwidth.

I highly recommend contacting the vendor before making any purchases however.
Click to expand...

Thanks! Already sent the vendor a request early this morning, but thought I would try and do some basic digging myself as well.
 
Vendor recommends 1 GB for client and 2 GB for server. So, I already have way more memory than they suggest. Same with the CPU. Both my computers have far better CPU's than they suggest. So, guess I'm doing all I can do from the hardware end. :D
 
Sadly a lot of software is just poorly written. Looking at the company web site, http://www.smartsbroadcast.com/smarts.htm should tell you all you need to know. I take it back, visit the site if you want, but this statement tells you all you need to know "We have taken our 17 years experience with the DOS version of SMARTS..."

You're pretty much on your own here. Inquire of the company if they support terminal services. Running the app locally and pushing the RDP traffic across your LAN will probably work much better, if it will work with terminal services at all.
 
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