Virtual Memory

Beyond the limit of the server's physical memory, the system will try to use virtual memory (i.e. a portion of the server's hard disk will be used as additional RAM). Since hard disks are drastically slower than RAM, this should be avoided as much as possible. Ways to prevent unnecessary virtual memory usage include:

• Avoid running unnecessary applications on the server (e.g. fancy screen savers)
• Try to run "scheduled" services (e.g. virus scans, backups, or batch uploads) during times when the server will be under minimal load (this will be dependent on your system's actual usage patterns)
• For non-dedicated servers, consider whether moving some of the server's functionality to a dedicated server would improve performance