Java.lang.outOfMemoryError even after setting JAVA_OPTS=-Xmx512m

[SH100]

I have set Java_opts and catalina_opts one after another still I am getting error

type Exception report

message

description The server encountered an internal error () that prevented it from fulfilling this request.

exception

org.springframework.web.util.NestedServletException: Handler processing failed; nested exception is java.lang.OutOfMemoryError: Java heap space

As I understand it's caused by garbage collector not freeing objects, Is there any precautionary measrues I can take that I will not get this error in first place.

Thank you.

[JavaServlet]

Try a profiler to find if you are not allocating enough perm or heap space. Start with jvmstat visualgc which has easy graphical output

You might have a memory leak somewhere that should be fixed or your application needs alot of memory.
If you need more memory then increase your heap size:

java -Xms<initial heap size> -Xmx<maximum heap size>