What Limits the Maximum Number of Threads in a .NET Application?

Determinants of the upper limit on the number of threads in .NET applications

With the advent of multi-core processors and the increasing need for concurrency in applications, a question arises: "How many threads can a .NET application create at most?"

Contrary to popular belief, .NET itself does not limit the number of threads that can be created. Instead, the maximum number depends on available physical resources, such as memory and CPU cores.

As Raymond Chen details in an informative article, the operating system ultimately determines the maximum number of threads that can execute concurrently. Therefore, the specific limitations depend on the hardware configuration and the underlying operating system.

While there is no theoretical fixed limit, it is important to note that attempting to create too many threads can lead to resource exhaustion and performance degradation.

By default, the .NET thread pool allocates a specific number of threads based on the framework version and operating system:

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

These numbers may vary slightly based on hardware and operating system configuration.

Therefore, when considering the maximum number of threads in a .NET application, one must consider both the available resources and the performance impact of creating a large number of threads.

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