Page Files - AVD Test

When the load imposed by applications and services running on a Windows system nears the amount of installed RAM, additional storage is necessary. The page file serves as the temporary store on disk for memory that cannot be accommodated in the physical RAM. Since it is frequently accessed for storing and retrieving data that is needed for virtual memory access by application, the location and sizing of the page files can have a critical impact on Windows system's performance. Ideally, the Windows operating system and the page file should be available on different drives for optimal performance. Splitting the page file across different drives can improve performance further.

A rule of thumb in sizing the page file is to set the maximum size of the page file to 1.5 times the available RAM. While this works well for systems with smaller physical memory, for other systems, the optimal page file size has to be determined based on experience using the system and studying the typical workload.

This test tracks the usage of each of the page files on the chosen Session Host.

Target of the test : An Azure Virtual Desktop

Agent deploying the test : An internal agent.

Outputs of the test : One set of results for the chosen session host

Configurable parameters for the test

Parameters	Description
Test Period	How often should the test be executed.
Host	The host for which the test is to be configured.
Port	The default port is NULL.
Report Total	Set this flag to Yes if you want the test to report total page file usage - i.e., the aggregate usage across multiple page files. In this case therefore, a Total descriptor will additionally appear for this test in the eG monitoring console.
Report Total Only	If both the Report Total and Report Total Only flags are set to Yes, then the test will report only the aggregate usage across multiple page files - in other words, the test will report values for the Total descriptor only. Likewise, if the Report Total flag is set to No, and the Report Total Only flag is set to Yes, then again, the test will report current usage for the Total descriptor only. However, if both the Report Total and Report Total Only flags are set to No, then the test will report individual page file usage only.  Also, if the Report Total flag is set to Yes and the Report Total Only flag is set to No, then both the individual and Total usages will be reported.

Measurements made by the test

Measurement	Description	Measurement Unit	Interpretation
Current usage	Indicates the current usage of a page file.	Percent	This metric should be less than 90%. If the page file does not have additional space, additional users/processes cannot be supported and system performance will suffer. To improve performance, consider resizing the page file. Microsoft Windows allows a minimum and maximum size of the page file to be specified. If the system has sufficient disk space, consider setting the page file to start out at the maximum size (by using the same value for the minimum and maximum sizes), so that system resources are not spent growing the page file size when there is a virtual memory shortage.