Memory Usage.
By default more memory is given to the running of local programs.
This is typical for a workstation, If the system shares a lot of data on a network it may offer better performance if more memory is given to the system cache.
This allows more files to be cached in RAM meaning the system can share data faster.
Virtual Memory.
Virtual memory is an area of the hard disk that is set aside to store running programs and files it is sometimes referred to as the swap file or the page file, It is used when the system is running out of proper RAM.
When RAM becomes full the system will move the oldest data stored to the swap files, This is done in 4k chunks called pages.
This frees up system RAM fir new data to be stored, If the data moved to virtual memory is required later it can be pulled back from the swap file.
The size and location of the swap file can make a big difference to performance,
Generally the system will be responsible for managing the size of the page file, This can cause a slowdown as the system will have to monitor and change the size of the page file.
We can potentially speed up the system by setting the initial and maximum sizes to those recommended by windows, This means the page file will have a fixed size.
Microsoft also recommends the following
1. Never use the “No Page File Option”.
2. The page file should never be more than 3x the amount of RAM.
3. Avoid locating the page file on system drives like c:/
4. Spread the space over as many physical disks as possible.
5. Do not put page files on more than one logical drive of the same disk
6. Do not put page files on fault tolerant drives.