Sort Space Size

Set the sort space size to specify the maximum amount of memory that the XDB Server will attempt to acquire when performing a sort operation. Sort space is acquired on a per-sort basis. The sort space size does not define a common pool shared by all users, but rather the maximum amount of space provided for each individual sort request. If a particular sort process does not require the total amount of memory allocated by the Sort Space Size setting, the excess amount of memory is released back to the operating system.

Increasing the sort space size allows the system to process large sorts more quickly, and store larger amounts of data at a single time, requiring fewer merges of sorted information. However, if you set this value too high, relative to the number of concurrent sorts or users, query processing may slow down significantly due to over-allocated memory.

To set the parameter on Windows 2000:

Click the Limits tab.
Enter the desired size in the Sort Space Size text box, or drag the slider.

Note: Do not set the combined amounts of Sort Space Size and other cache to a number greater than the total amount of physical memory (RAM) available on a machine. Doing so can degrade performance due to operating system swapping. When determining how much cache to allocate, be sure to consider all types of caching, including the Caching Options, the XDB Server Sort Space Size option, and operating system cache.