ANTS Memory Profiler enables you to profile memory usage of applications written in any of the languages available for the .NET Framework, including Visual Basic .NET, C#, and Managed C++. This is useful, for example, to improve memory usage by identifying the objects and classes that use most memory, and objects that remain live the longest.

You can use ANTS Memory Profiler to profile .NET desktop applications, ASP.NET web applications hosted in Internet Information Services (IIS) or the ASP.NET Development Server, .NET Windows services, COM+ server applications, Silverlight 4 or later applications, and XBAPs. In addition, you can profile applications that host the .NET Runtime, for example Visual Studio .NET plug-ins.

For more information, see the ANTS Memory Profiler product page.

The exact procedure you use to find your memory problem depends on your application and what you are trying to achieve. In all cases, there are five general steps:

1. Choose the application that you want to profile
2. Identify what kind of memory problem you have
3. Take one or more memory snapshots
4. Follow an appropriate strategy for the type of problem
5. Analyze and interpret the profiling results

Some knowledge of .NET memory management is useful before you start. If you need a refresher on this, see our Memory management primer.