If
the Priority Boost setting is enabled, SQL Server runs at a higher scheduling
priority.
The result is that the priority of every
thread in the server process is set to a
priority of 13 in Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003. Most processes run at
the normal priority, which is 7. The net effect is that if the server is
running a very resource-intensive workload and is getting close to maxing out
the CPU, these normal priority processes are effectively starved.
The default Priority Boost setting is 0, which means that SQL
Server runs at normal priority whether or not you’re running it on a
single-processor machine. There are probably very few sites or applications for
which setting this option makes much difference, but if your machine is totally
dedicated to running SQL Server, you might want to enable this option (setting
it to 1) to see for yourself. It can potentially offer a performance advantage
on a heavily loaded, dedicated system. As with most of the configuration
options, you should use it with care. Raising the priority too high might affect
the core operating system and network operations, resulting in problems
shutting down SQL Server or running other operating system tasks on the server.
