The Java™ Virtual Machine (JVM) heap is a repository of active objects, inactive objects, and free memory. When the JVM heap runs out of memory, all processing in the JVM stops until garbage collection completes.
The JVM heap size is important because it controls how often, and for how long garbage collection runs. If garbage collection runs too infrequently, the extra time that is required to complete garbage collection can negatively affect FileNet® P8 performance.
By balancing the JVM heap with the number of instances in the application server cluster, you can minimize the number of lengthy garbage collection pauses, and the frequency of full garbage collections that are caused by insufficient heap space.
The JVM heap size is a configurable parameter that you can set when you start the JVM. The lowest acceptable value for the minimum heap size is 512 MB, and the lowest acceptable value for the maximum heap size is 1 GB.