AWE Memory
I just learned about something new. Way back in the Windows NT 4.0 days, I learned that Windows allowed software to use up to 2 Gb of memory. The boxes could actually hold up to 4 Gb, but the memory was usually split 2 for the app, 2 for the OS. Since then, 32 Windows versions have dramatically increased the addressable amounts of memory (my notable interactions have always been on gigantic SQL Server boxes with gigs and gigs of memory). How does this work? AWE Memory!
AWE stands for the Address Windowing Extenstion and is an API which allows applications to use physical memory beyond the 32 bit virtual address space. This allows x86 processor based machines to see up to 64 Gb of memory.
Learn more here.