Lonny Niederstadt had a curious issue:
When [Max Server Memory] can be attained by SQL Server, [Target Server Memory] will be equal to [Max Server Memory]. If memory conditions external to SQL Server make [Max Server Memory] unattainable, [Target Server Memory] will be adjusted downward to an attainable value. As workload is placed on the system, [Total Server Memory] grows toward [Target Server Memory]. That’s typical, expected behavior.
In this case, the story stays boring until after the following midnight. There wasn’t enough workload to drive much growth of [Total Server Memory] until about 2:15 am, after which [Total Server Memory] grew fairly rapidly. [Total Server Memory] reached a plateau between 3:00 am and 3:15 am, and then stepped slightly down later. [Target Server Memory] was never attained. That’s curious.
Indeed it is. Read the whole thing. And, given that it is labeled as Part 1, stay tuned for Part 2.