Svchost.exe -k netsvcs occupying >1GB memory

svchostwindows-server-2008-r2

I have noticed my production server "svchost.exe -k netsvcs" is occupying >1GB ram memory, steadily, which I think is a bit excessive.

This is what tasklist /svc will give me for this process:

                               Appinfo, CertPropSvc, gpsvc, IKEEXT,
                               iphlpsvc, LanmanServer, ProfSvc, Schedule,
                               SENS, SessionEnv, ShellHWDetection,
                               Winmgmt, wuauserv

I was wondering what might be the process listed that is responsible for this memory leak and how to fix it. Has anyone had this same behavior in the past?

Server is running Windows Server 2008 R2 (Build 7601: Service Pack 1) and it's main function is to run in-house application processor workers.

Best Answer

The question is, is it a leak? You're saying that the memory usage is "steady".

Leak = memory usage increases over time, never decreasing, so you have to reload the server every once in a while.

If the taks is staying at ~1 GB for long time (say, two weeks), then the situation is perfectly normal. Modern software is made to use free memory whenever necessary, and I know a few programs that will just grab whatever there is just to save time on memory allocation.

If it doesn't impede system's operation, don't touch it.

Related Solutions

Windows – Finegrained Performance Reporting on svchost.exe

Yes, there is an (almost) non-intrusive and easy way:

Split each service to run in its own SVCHOST.EXE process and the service consuming the CPU cycles will be easily visible in Process Explorer (the space after "=" is required):

SC Config Servicename Type= own

Do this in a command line window or put it into a BAT script. Administrative privileges are required and a restart of the computer is required before it takes effect.

The original state can be restored by:

SC Config Servicename Type= share

Example: to make Windows Management Instrumentation run in a separate SVCHOST.EXE:

SC Config winmgmt Type= own

This technique has no ill effects, except perhaps increasing memory consumption slightly. And apart from observing CPU usage for each service it also makes it easy to observe page faults delta, disk I/O read rate and disk I/O write rate for each service. For Process Explorer, menu View/Select Columns: tab Process Memory/Page Fault Delta, tab Process Performance/IO Delta Write Bytes, tab Process Performance/IO Delta Read Bytes, respectively.

On most systems there is only one SVCHOST.EXE process that has a lot of services. I have used this sequence (it can be pasted directly into a command line window):

rem  1. "Automatic Updates"
SC Config wuauserv Type= own

rem  2. "COM+ Event System"
SC Config EventSystem Type= own

rem  3. "Computer Browser"
SC Config Browser Type= own

rem  4. "Cryptographic Services"
SC Config CryptSvc Type= own

rem  5. "Distributed Link Tracking"
SC Config TrkWks Type= own

rem  6. "Help and Support"
SC Config helpsvc Type= own

rem  7. "Logical Disk Manager"
SC Config dmserver Type= own

rem  8. "Network Connections"
SC Config Netman Type= own

rem  9. "Network Location Awareness"
SC Config NLA Type= own

rem 10. "Remote Access Connection Manager"
SC Config RasMan Type= own

rem 11. "Secondary Logon"
SC Config seclogon Type= own

rem 12. "Server"
SC Config lanmanserver Type= own

rem 13. "Shell Hardware Detection"
SC Config ShellHWDetection Type= own

rem 14. "System Event Notification"
SC Config SENS Type= own

rem 15. "System Restore Service"
SC Config srservice Type= own

rem 16. "Task Scheduler"
SC Config Schedule Type= own

rem 17. "Telephony"
SC Config TapiSrv Type= own

rem 18. "Terminal Services"
SC Config TermService Type= own

rem 19. "Themes"
SC Config Themes Type= own

rem 20. "Windows Audio"
SC Config AudioSrv Type= own

rem 21. "Windows Firewall/Internet Connection Sharing (ICS)"
SC Config SharedAccess Type= own

rem 22. "Windows Management Instrumentation"
SC Config winmgmt Type= own

rem 23. "Wireless Configuration"
SC Config WZCSVC Type= own

rem 24. "Workstation"
SC Config lanmanworkstation Type= own

rem End.

Windows Memory – How to Find Memory Usage of Individual Windows Services

There is an easy way to get the information you are asking for (but it does require a slight change to your system):

Split each service to run in its own SVCHOST.EXE process and the service consuming the CPU cycles will be easily visible in Task Manager or Process Explorer (the space after "=" is required):

SC Config Servicename Type= own