Elvis 5 memory configuration – Home

After the installation of Elvis 5 Server, sufficient memory should also be allocated to the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) instance in which Elvis Server itself is run, specifically to the Java heap memory.

Optimal Java heap size memory settings

The optimal performance settings for the initial and maximum Java heap memory is 50% of the machine's total with a minimum of 4GB for the -Xmx and -Xms settings.

About the maximum Java heap memory (-Xmx)

The -Xmx option controls just the Java heap memory block. The actual Java process may use more memory because it also has blocks of non-heap and native memory. It is advisable to leave sufficient memory available for the operating system.

Note: Most modern operating systems will use any remaining memory to speed up the disk cache. This can hugely improve performance of the search engine.

Changing the Java heap settings

The following samples show how to modify the Java heap memory settings on all platforms. The samples assume a machine with the following configuration:

Amount of RAM: 16GB

This results in about 8GB that can be assigned to the Java heap memory.

Note: For platforms with a higher or lower amount of memory, adjust the memory values according to the recommendations outlined above.

Tip: Use a converter to convert Gigabits to Megabits.

On Windows

Open the Jetty config in Notepad or another text editor.

<Program Files>\Elvis Server\elvis-service\elvis-service.conf

Change the following lines and save the changes:

wrapper.java.initmemory=8192

wrapper.java.maxmemory=8192

Restart Elvis Server.

On Mac OS X

Open the Terminal and type the following:

$ sudo nano /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.dutchsoftware.elvis.server.launchd.plist

Change the Xmx and Xms settings:

<string>-Xms8g</string>

<string>-Xmx8g</string>

Save the changes and exit by typing Ctrl+X followed by Y.
Restart Elvis Server.

On Linux

Type the following in the command line:

$ sudo nano /srv/elvis-server/app/wrapper/conf/wrapper.conf

Locate and adjust the following two line (they will be at the top of the wrapper.conf file):

wrapper.java.additional.1 = -Xms8g

wrapper.java.additional.2 = -Xmx8g

Save the changes and exit by typing Ctrl+X followed by Y.
Restart Elvis Server.

Document history

3 August 2018: Updated section 'Optimal Java heap size memory settings'.
3 August 2018: Updated section 'Changing the Java heap settings'.

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