What's the Maximum Number of Threads a .NET Application Can Create?

Maximum number of .NET application threads

In multi-threaded programming, a common question is: How many threads can a .NET application create at most? Unlike some programming languages, .NET itself does not limit the number of threads created. However, this flexibility depends on the availability of physical resources.

As Raymond Chen stated in his famous article, the maximum number of threads is inherently limited by the underlying hardware and operating system. Therefore, the resource capabilities of the system must be considered when determining the optimal number of threads to create.

Regarding the nature of resource exhaustion, .NET applications typically encounter system-level limitations rather than explicit exceptions. If an application attempts to exceed available thread capacity, it may face performance degradation or, in rare cases, cause a system crash.

Detailed explanation of thread pool

It is worth mentioning that the .NET Framework provides a thread pool mechanism that can effectively manage the creation and execution of threads. The default number of threads in the thread pool depends on the .NET Framework version and the underlying environment:

• Framework 4.0 (32-bit): 1023 threads
• Framework 4.0 (64-bit): 32767 threads
• Framework 3.5: 250 threads per core
• Framework 2.0: 25 threads per core

These values ​​are reasonable defaults, but can be customized based on specific application needs and resource constraints.

In summary, while .NET does not enforce a fixed thread limit, it is still wise to carefully adjust thread creation based on available system resources. Exceeding your system's thread capacity may adversely affect performance and application stability.

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