prstat and top commands don't show too much memory being used by processes and system is not using too much kernel and page cache memory, where did the system memory go? (Doc ID 1490250.1)

Last updated on AUGUST 29, 2019

Applies to:

Solaris Operating System - Version 10 3/05 and later
Information in this document applies to any platform.
***Checked for relevance on 06-May-2016***

This issue presents itself when:

- vmstat free column shows low values
- prstat and top commands don't show too much memory being used by processes
- mdb memstat command doesn't show high kernel or page cache usage, however it shows a greater than expected value for the "Anonymous" row.
- System might be paging out or swapping threads to swap device (vmstat's sr column greater than 0) causing performance problems.
- "ipcs -ma" or "ipcs -ZAm" shows 0 in NATTCH column and the process that created that segment (CPID) no longer exists

	To view full details, sign in with your My Oracle Support account.
	Don't have a My Oracle Support account? Click to get started!

In this Document

Symptoms

My Oracle Support provides customers with access to over a million knowledge articles and a vibrant support community of peers and Oracle experts.