Out of Sort Memory

Last updated on Nov 10, 2022
Applies To All MySQL Sources
Error Message Text(s) Out of sort memory, consider increasing server sort buffer size.

Potential Causes

  • This error occurs when the buffer size required for executing a query is larger than the sort_buffer_size value configured for the MySQL server.

Suggested Actions

  • Use indexed tables. Indices help in querying the table faster, by reducing the number of rows to be scanned. Creating indices is preferred over increasing the sort_buffer_size as the latter may slow down your queries.

  • If you have indexed tables but still face the error, increase sort_buffer_size:

    1. Navigate to your MySQL Server install directory.

    2. Open the config file:

      • my.ini in the case of Windows.

      • my.cnf in the case of Linux.

    3. Search for the sort_buffer_size parameter in the file or add it if it does not exist.

    4. Set the required buffer size as shown below:

        sort_buffer_size = <required_size>
      

      For example, to set the value to 1 gigabyte, use one of the following:

          sort_buffer_size = 1073741824
      
          sort_buffer_size = 1G
      
    5. Restart your MySQL server for the changes to take effect.


See Also


Revision History

Refer to the following table for the list of key updates made to this page:

Date Release Description of Change
Sep-05-2022 NA Brought this page under its respective Source documentation folder.
Sep-09-2021 1.71 New document.

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