Huge Downlevel Print Job Causes File Cache to Grow

• Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 4.0
• Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0

SYMPTOMS

When a downlevel client sends a huge print job to a Windows NT printer shared on the Microsoft Windows Network, the file cache on the server grows near to the size of physical memory.

NOTE: Downlevel clients include LAN Manager 2.x clients for MS-DOS and OS/2, MS-DOS Microsoft Network Client 3.0, Windows for Workgroups 3.x, and Windows 95. A Windows NT computer can also be a downlevel client when it has a local driver installed and prints to the printer share.

If you examine performance counters while this happens, you notice the counter for the file cache (Memory: Cache Bytes) is very high while the process working sets decline (Process: Working Set, instance _Total).

CAUSE

When the server service opens downlevel spool files it does not use the flag FILE_FLAG_SEQUENTIAL_SCAN. Therefore, Cache Manager increases the file cache when data is read or written since it expects the application to need it again.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows NT version 4.0. A supported fix is now available, but has not been fully regression-tested and should be applied only to systems experiencing this specific problem. Unless you are severely impacted by this specific problem, Microsoft recommends that you wait for the next Service Pack that contains this fix. Contact Microsoft Technical Support for more information.