Dell Networking: Ideal Memory Utilization in Dell Networking OS10 S4100 Switches

Platform: All S4100-ON

Firmware: All OS10 versions

Memory Specifications:
The S4100 switches come with 4 GB of system memory.

Sample CLI Output:
To demonstrate the memory utilization, consider the following sample output from the "show processes node-id 1" command on the S4128F switch running OS10 version 10.6.0.1 release.

The output above indicates the following memory details:
Total Memory: 3,997,908 KiB
Free Memory: 763,084 KiB
Used Memory: 2,895,740 KiB
Buffer/Cache Memory: 574,324 KiB
Available Memory: 1,102,168 KiB

Memory Availability Calculation:
To calculate the memory availability as a percentage of total memory, the following formula can be used.

Using the values from the instance:
% Availability = {1,102,168 / 3,997,908} * 100 ≈ 27.56%

This indicates that approximately 27.56% of the memory is available under no data workload conditions.

Important Considerations:

• No Indication of Issue:
  The observed memory utilization does not suggest an issue with the system.
  In an ideal or idle state, the S4100 switch uses a significant portion of the memory for buffer/cache purposes.
  As traffic and workloads are introduced, the Linux kernel dynamically frees up memory as required to handle new processes and data.
  If the "used memory" does not show a consistent increase, or if the available memory does not consistently decrease, the switch is not exhibiting signs of a memory leak.

• Memory Management in OS10:
  The Linux kernel used by OS10 is designed to manage memory effectively, including releasing memory from buffer/cache as needed for ongoing operations.
  The system automatically adjusts memory allocation to accommodate the demands of active processes.

Alternative Command for Memory Availability:
For an additional method of checking memory availability, you can run the following command to get the available memory as a percentage of total memory.

OS10# system "free | grep Mem | awk '{print $7/$2 * 100 }'"

This command returns the available memory percentage, which, in this case, is approximately 26.21%, confirming the values observed in the initial output.

Conclusion:
The memory utilization figures in this article reflect normal behavior in a S4128F switch under ideal conditions, with no active traffic.
As workloads increase, the switch manages memory dynamically to ensure efficient resource allocation, and these numbers should be evaluated in the context of actual network activity.

Products:
PowerSwitch S4112F-ON/S4112T-ON, PowerSwitch S4128F-ON/S4128T-ON, PowerSwitch S4148F-ON/S4148T-ON/S4148FE-ON, PowerSwitch S4148U-ON