From everything I read setting the max server memory to a reasonable capped limit is a best practice to support effective performance and relaibility of your SQL Server. However, I have seen a few discussions saying that althrough SQL will use lots of memory, it can easily release it to the OS if the OS requires it for OS operations. If that is genuinely the case, why do you need to cap the amount of memory SQL can use, if when the OS needs memory resources SQL will release them?

http://mssqlwiki.com/2013/04/22/max-server-memory-do-i-need-to-configure/

Hi,

As noted SSAS, SSIS & SSRS can use all the memory available. However, they can work with less memory although not as fast.

Memory configuration: http://www.sqlusa.com/bestpractices/memory-configuration/

SSRS: Configure Available Memory for Report Server Applications

SSAS: Configure Server Properties in Analysis Services

Article: "

SQL Server, SSIS, SSAS and SSRS on ONE Server

Best practice dictates that we use a separate server for each of these SQL Server Services. And this seems logical because otherwise these services will compete over server resources. In IT we call this competition: contention.

However there are some great reasons to put these services on one box:

• Licensing: SQL Server licensing can be expensive. And you need licenses for every server on which a services runs.
• Better resource utilization: Less servers, less power usage, less maintenance and -monitoring cost.
• Sometimes the network is the problem as a lot of data moves from the SQL Engine to SSIS or SSAS resulting in network congesting. If services run on the same machine, SQL Server uses the Shared Memory Protocol which is faster and leads to less network congestion. "