SQL Server Error 701

Error number

701

Severity

19 (resource or software problem)

State

Varies (identifies where inside SQL Server the allocation failed)

Product

Microsoft SQL Server Database Engine

Versions

All supported SQL Server versions (2016 to 2025), Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL Managed Instance

Category

Memory

Last reviewed

23 October 2026

What it means

Error 701 means SQL Server could not get the memory a query needed inside the named resource pool; in most cases the query that failed is the victim, and the cause is elsewhere on the server or in the instance.

Every allocation inside SQL Server belongs to a resource pool: internal for the engine itself, default for ordinary user work, or a Resource Governor pool you created. When an allocation in that pool fails and SQL Server cannot free enough memory in time, the query that asked gets 701. The name in quotes tells you which pool ran out; a user-defined pool with a low memory limit is a very different problem from the default or internal pool.

Microsoft groups the causes into three kinds: pressure from outside the SQL Server process (other applications, an overcommitted virtual machine), memory used inside the process but outside the engine (linked server providers, SQLCLR, extended procedures, injected DLLs), and one engine component using far too much (large query memory grants, the plan cache, the lock manager). The diagnostics below tell them apart. A single 701 that clears quickly may need no action; repeated 701s on many connections do.

Common causes

• Other applications or services on the same server, or a virtual machine whose memory is overcommitted, leave too little memory for SQL Server.
• Queries with very large memory grants (big sorts and hashes) holding memory in the MEMORYCLERK_SQLQERESERVATIONS clerk.
• A plan cache bloated by many single-use ad hoc plans (CACHESTORE_SQLCP), or a lock manager holding millions of locks (OBJECTSTORE_LOCK_MANAGER).
• Linked server providers, SQLCLR, extended procedures or third-party DLLs loaded into the SQL Server process and using memory the engine cannot see.
• A Resource Governor pool with a low MAX_MEMORY_PERCENT for the workload that runs in it, or an unusual max or min server memory setting.

Diagnose it

Read-only These queries only read metadata and dynamic management views. They do not change data, permissions or configuration, so they are safe to run first.

SELECT TOP (15) type, name, memory_node_id,
       pages_kb / 1024 AS pages_mb,
       virtual_memory_committed_kb / 1024 AS vm_committed_mb
FROM sys.dm_os_memory_clerks
ORDER BY pages_kb DESC;

SELECT total_physical_memory_kb / 1024 AS total_mb,
       available_physical_memory_kb / 1024 AS available_mb,
       system_memory_state_desc
FROM sys.dm_os_sys_memory;

SELECT physical_memory_in_use_kb / 1024 AS sql_in_use_mb,
       process_physical_memory_low, process_virtual_memory_low
FROM sys.dm_os_process_memory;

SELECT mg.session_id, mg.requested_memory_kb / 1024 AS requested_mb,
       mg.granted_memory_kb / 1024 AS granted_mb, mg.used_memory_kb / 1024 AS used_mb,
       mg.wait_time_ms, t.text AS query_text
FROM sys.dm_exec_query_memory_grants AS mg
OUTER APPLY sys.dm_exec_sql_text(mg.sql_handle) AS t
ORDER BY mg.requested_memory_kb DESC;

SELECT name, value_in_use
FROM sys.configurations
WHERE name IN (N'max server memory (MB)', N'min server memory (MB)');

SELECT pool_id, name, max_memory_kb / 1024 AS max_mb,
       used_memory_kb / 1024 AS used_mb, out_of_memory_count
FROM sys.dm_resource_governor_resource_pools;

SELECT event_time, oom_cause_desc, available_physical_memory_mb,
       oom_resource_pools, top_memory_clerks
FROM sys.dm_os_out_of_memory_events
ORDER BY event_time DESC;

How to fix it

Each fix is labelled with what it changes. Try read-only checks and the least invasive fix first, and test changes outside production.

-- Only with a value chosen from measurements (example: 28 GB on a 32 GB server)
EXEC sp_configure 'show advanced options', 1;
RECONFIGURE;
EXEC sp_configure 'max server memory (MB)', 28672;
RECONFIGURE;

Examples

A query fails while the instance is under memory pressure

Shown as documented by Microsoft; not reproduced here because it needs real memory exhaustion on the instance. The query that fails is usually not the cause. The level and state a client sees were not observed in the lab, so only the message text (from sys.messages on SQL Server 2025) is shown.

SELECT CustomerId, SUM(Amount) AS Total
FROM dbo.Orders
GROUP BY CustomerId
ORDER BY Total DESC;

There is insufficient system memory in resource pool 'default' to run this query.

How to prevent it

Size the server for the workload and leave room for Windows and anything else that runs on it; on virtual machines, make sure memory is reserved rather than overcommitted. Set max server memory deliberately from measurements, and revisit it when the server or workload changes.

Monitor memory clerks, memory grants and sys.dm_os_out_of_memory_events over time so growth is visible before it fails queries, and tune queries that request large grants. Keep third-party DLLs and in-process providers out of SQL Server where you can.

Common questions

Learn more on CodeWithSQL

• Performance tuning

Official documentation

• MSSQLSERVER_701 (Microsoft Learn)
• Server memory configuration options
• sys.dm_os_memory_clerks
• Troubleshoot memory issues in Azure SQL Database

Last technically reviewed 23 October 2026; examples and diagnostics run on SQL Server 2025 (17.0.1145.4). Message text checked against the engine's sys.messages catalogue.