Windows 11 Delivery Optimization Service Troubled by Memory Leak
Multiple reports have confirmed that the service Delivery Optimization in Windows 11 is having quite a troubling memory leak in recent builds of the operating system. A Reddit user first discovered the issue affecting users on both the client side, Windows 11 versions 24H2 and 25H2, and the server side, Windows Server 2025, where the service runs by default and constantly collects memory.
Symptoms and Identifying the Problem
The user observed a gradual decrease in the performance of the system. Upon remote desktop (RDP) connection, the machine could hang completely without response. Investigation further revealed that the culprit was excessive consumption of random-access memory during the execution of various processes.
- Windows event logs would scream of low virtual memory throughout.
- The svchost.exe process was seen to consume as much as 20 GB of memory.
- It was through system analysis that it was discovered the service Delivery Optimization (DoSvc) was the one steadily taking up memory.
Role of the Delivery Optimization Service
Delivery Optimization is a service that speeds up the delivery of Windows Update and Microsoft Store apps. It allows devices to download portions of these updates either from others over a local network or across the Internet in a peer-to-peer fashion. Users can limit this to just their local network or turn it off altogether in the Windows Update settings.
Context of System Service Issues
This is not the first case when a system service has engendered issues with the recent builds of Windows 11. Previously, Microsoft changed the AppX Deployment service (Appxsvc) to start automatically, which attracted complaints from users for high consumption of CPU, memory, and disk usage. Now, we are still awaiting Microsoft to clarify whether the Delivery Optimization service really does pose a memory leak.
