Maximum Java heap size of a 32-bit JVM on a 64-bit OS

Question

The question is not about the maximum heap size on a 32-bit OS, given that 32-bit OSes have a maximum addressable memory size of 4GB, and that the JVM\'s max heap size depen

Answer 1

Theoretical 4gb, but in practice (for IBM JVM):

Win 2k8 64, IBM Websphere Application Server 8.5.5 32bit

C:\IBM\WebSphere\AppServer\bin>managesdk.bat -listAvailable -verbose CWSDK1003I: Доступные SDK: CWSDK1005I: Имя SDK: 1.6_32 - com.ibm.websphere.sdk.version.1.6_32=1.6 - com.ibm.websphere.sdk.bits.1.6_32=32 - com.ibm.websphere.sdk.location.1.6_32=${WAS_INSTALL_ROOT}/java - com.ibm.websphere.sdk.platform.1.6_32=windows - com.ibm.websphere.sdk.architecture.1.6_32=x86_32 - com.ibm.websphere.sdk.nativeLibPath.1.6_32=${WAS_INSTALL_ROOT}/lib/native/win /x86_32/ CWSDK1001I: Задача managesdk выполнена успешно. C:\IBM\WebSphere\AppServer\java\bin>java -Xmx2036 MaxMemory JVMJ9GC017E -Xmx слишком мала, должна быть не меньше 1 M байт JVMJ9VM015W Ошибка инициализации для библиотеки j9gc26(2): Не удалось инициализи ровать Could not create the Java virtual machine. C:\IBM\WebSphere\AppServer\java\bin>java -Xmx2047M MaxMemory Total Memory: 4194304 (4.0 MiB) Max Memory: 2146435072 (2047.0 MiB) Free Memory: 3064536 (2.9225692749023438 MiB) C:\IBM\WebSphere\AppServer\java\bin>java -Xmx2048M MaxMemory JVMJ9VM015W Ошибка инициализации для библиотеки j9gc26(2): Не удалось создать эк земпляр кучи; запрошено 2G Could not create the Java virtual machine.

RHEL 6.4 64, IBM Websphere Application Server 8.5.5 32bit

[bin]./java -Xmx3791M MaxMemory Total Memory: 4194304 (4.0 MiB) Max Memory: 3975151616 (3791.0 MiB) Free Memory: 3232992 (3.083221435546875 MiB) [root@nagios1p bin]# ./java -Xmx3793M MaxMemory Total Memory: 4194304 (4.0 MiB) Max Memory: 3977248768 (3793.0 MiB) Free Memory: 3232992 (3.083221435546875 MiB) [bin]# /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/bin/managesdk.sh -listAvailable -verbose CWSDK1003I: Available SDKs : CWSDK1005I: SDK name: 1.6_32 - com.ibm.websphere.sdk.version.1.6_32=1.6 - com.ibm.websphere.sdk.bits.1.6_32=32 - com.ibm.websphere.sdk.location.1.6_32=${WAS_INSTALL_ROOT}/java - com.ibm.websphere.sdk.platform.1.6_32=linux - com.ibm.websphere.sdk.architecture.1.6_32=x86_32 -com.ibm.websphere.sdk.nativeLibPath.1.6_32=${WAS_INSTALL_ROOT}/lib/native/linux/x86_32/ CWSDK1001I: Successfully performed the requested managesdk task.

Answer 2

32-bit JVMs which expect to have a single large chunk of memory and use raw pointers cannot use more than 4 Gb (since that is the 32 bit limit which also applies to pointers). This includes Sun and - I'm pretty sure - also IBM implementations. I do not know if e.g. JRockit or others have a large memory option with their 32-bit implementations.

If you expect to be hitting this limit you should strongly consider starting a parallel track validating a 64-bit JVM for your production environment so you have that ready for when the 32-bit environment breaks down. Otherwise you will have to do that work under pressure, which is never nice.

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Edit 2014-05-15: Oracle FAQ:

The maximum theoretical heap limit for the 32-bit JVM is 4G. Due to various additional constraints such as available swap, kernel address space usage, memory fragmentation, and VM overhead, in practice the limit can be much lower. On most modern 32-bit Windows systems the maximum heap size will range from 1.4G to 1.6G. On 32-bit Solaris kernels the address space is limited to 2G. On 64-bit operating systems running the 32-bit VM, the max heap size can be higher, approaching 4G on many Solaris systems.

(http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/hotspotfaq-138619.html#gc_heap_32bit)

Answer 3

The JROCKIT JVM currently owned by Oracle supports non-contiguous heap usage, thus allowing the 32 bit JVM to access more then 3.8 GB of memory when the JVM is running on a 64 bit windows OS. (2.8 GB when running on a 32 bit OS).

http://blogs.oracle.com/jrockit/entry/how_to_get_almost_3_gb_heap_on_windows

The JVM can be freely downloaded (registration required) at

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/jrockit/downloads/index.html

Answer 4

From 4.1.2 Heap Sizing:

"For a 32-bit process model, the maximum virtual address size of the process is typically 4 GB, though some operating systems limit this to 2 GB or 3 GB. The maximum heap size is typically -Xmx3800m (1600m) for 2 GB limits), though the actual limitation is application dependent. For 64-bit process models, the maximum is essentially unlimited."

Found a pretty good answer here: Java maximum memory on Windows XP.

Answer 5

I was having the same problems with the JVM that App Inventor for Android Blocks Editor uses. It sets the heap at 925m max. This is not enough but I couldn't set it more than about 1200m, depending on various random factors on my machine.

I downloaded Nightly, the beta 64-bit browser from Firefox, and also JAVA 7 64 bit version.

I haven't yet found my new heap limit, but I just opened a JVM with a heap size of 5900m. No problem!

I am running Win 7 64 bit Ultimate on a machine with 24gb RAM.