SQL Server, Locked Pages, and Standard SKU…

I made an announcement today while speaking at Europe PASS 2009 that we will be providing a method for customers using standard SKU for SQL Server 2005 and 2008 to use the ‘Locked Pages in Memory’ privilege to allow the server to use the AWE APIs. This is often referred to as “locked pages” for SQL Server to assist with working set trim problems.

I won’t provide all the details at this time to understand how to use this but I wanted to post this as soon as possible and let you know that the product team has heard your feedback.

This will come in the form of a trace flag that can be enabled on the following upcoming cumulative updates:

CU2 for SQL Server 2008 SP1 – Currently scheduled for May 2009

CU4 for SQL Server 2005 SP3 – Currently scheduled for June 2009

When we ship these cumulative updates we will be providing an article that describes how to use the trace flag along with guidelines for its usage.

 

Bob Ward
Microsoft