Linux VPS - Keep Bukkit/Java Memory in check

Hello,

I was hoping to seek help from some server admins more experienced with Linux and/or VPS.
I use to host the MC server on my local PC so memory was never a problem, since going to a VPS with a 3gb memory limit, I've had to keep things in check.

I'm using: java -server -Xmx2500M -Xms2500M -jar craftbukkit.jar

Yet wherever I pull memory stats java seems to be using up all the memory, minus say 20mb which isnt helpful, as soon as another task starts unrelated to pushes the server over the limit and it comes to a slow death.

Right now java is using over 2900mb of memory, and free -m is reporting only 23mb free. Is there something I'm overlooking in Java/Bukkit which is causing it to eat more memory than 2.5gb?

Cheers in advanced.

 

free reporting almost no memory free is a normal and a good thing
that java uses more than specified on the other hand is not, BUT I suspect that the -Xmx is only the heap memory, and you have to add some overhead for java itself...