When would you collect a `.gcdump` instead of a full process dump for a .NET service?

Choose between a GC dump and a full process dump

Chooses heap-focused GC evidence or complete process state based on memory growth, roots, hangs, crashes, locks, and collection risk.

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TL;DR

I use a GC dump when the question is which managed objects survive and what roots retain them. I use a full process dump when I need thread stacks, locks, exception state, native memory context, or a persistent hang. A GC dump is narrower but still has collection cost, while a full dump is larger and more sensitive. The symptom determines which artifact is justified.

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Practice focus

Managed heap graphs, object statistics, roots, Gen 2 collection, full process state, threads, locks, native memory, privacy, and memory pressure.

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Why this question matters
Both artifacts can contribute to memory investigations, but they preserve different state and impose different costs. Choosing deliberately avoids a large sensitive dump when heap statistics are enough, or an incomplete heap artifact when thread and native state matter.
I use a GC dump when the question is which managed objects survive and what roots retain them. I use a full process dump when I need thread stacks, locks, exception state, native memory context, or a persistent hang. A GC dump is narrower but still has collection cost, while a full dump is larger and more sensitive. The symptom determines which artifact is justified.
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For gradual managed growth, I capture comparable GC dumps after warmup and later under similar workload, then inspect type deltas and root paths. If GC dump collection cannot reconstruct the heap because events are lost or the heap is too large, I escalate to a full dump if the instance can tolerate it. For a deadlock or persistent hang, a GC dump is the wrong artifact because I need thread stacks and lock ownership. For suspected native memory, a managed heap graph may explain only part of the process working set, so I need process and platform evidence in addition to managed analysis.

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Details

Calling a GC dump harmless because it is smaller than a full dump.
Using a heap-only artifact to investigate a deadlock or thread hang.
Comparing captures from different workloads and treating every type delta as a leak.
Equating managed heap size with the complete process working set.

When would you collect a `.gcdump` instead of a full process dump for a .NET service?

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When would you collect a `.gcdump` instead of a full process dump for a .NET service?

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Technologies

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