diff --git a/artemis-cli/src/main/java/org/apache/activemq/artemis/cli/commands/Create.java b/artemis-cli/src/main/java/org/apache/activemq/artemis/cli/commands/Create.java
index 49e55455fc..3468cbf9eb 100644
--- a/artemis-cli/src/main/java/org/apache/activemq/artemis/cli/commands/Create.java
+++ b/artemis-cli/src/main/java/org/apache/activemq/artemis/cli/commands/Create.java
@@ -101,6 +101,9 @@ public class Create extends InputAbstract {
    public static final String ETC_PING_TXT = "etc/ping-settings.txt";
    public static final String ETC_COMMENTED_PING_TXT = "etc/commented-ping-settings.txt";
 
+   public static final String ETC_GLOBAL_MAX_SPECIFIED_TXT = "etc/global-max-specified.txt";
+   public static final String ETC_GLOBAL_MAX_DEFAULT_TXT = "etc/global-max-default.txt";
+
    @Arguments(description = "The instance directory to hold the broker's configuration and data.  Path must be writable.", required = true)
    File directory;
 
@@ -251,8 +254,8 @@ public class Create extends InputAbstract {
    @Option(name = "--no-fsync", description = "Disable usage of fdatasync (channel.force(false) from java nio) on the journal")
    boolean noJournalSync;
 
-   @Option(name = "--global-max-size", description = "Maximum amount of memory which message data may consume (Default: 100Mb)")
-   String globalMaxSize = "100Mb";
+   @Option(name = "--global-max-size", description = "Maximum amount of memory which message data may consume (Default: Undefined, half of the system's memory)")
+   String globalMaxSize;
 
    boolean IS_WINDOWS;
 
@@ -661,7 +664,15 @@ public class Create extends InputAbstract {
       filters.put("${user}", getUser());
       filters.put("${password}", getPassword());
       filters.put("${role}", role);
-      filters.put("${global-max-size}", globalMaxSize);
+
+
+      if (globalMaxSize == null || globalMaxSize.trim().equals("")) {
+         filters.put("${global-max-section}", readTextFile(ETC_GLOBAL_MAX_DEFAULT_TXT));
+      } else {
+         filters.put("${global-max-size}", globalMaxSize);
+         filters.put("${global-max-section}", applyFilters(readTextFile(ETC_GLOBAL_MAX_SPECIFIED_TXT), filters));
+      }
+
 
       if (clustered) {
          filters.put("${host}", getHostForClustered());
diff --git a/artemis-cli/src/main/java/org/apache/activemq/artemis/cli/commands/Run.java b/artemis-cli/src/main/java/org/apache/activemq/artemis/cli/commands/Run.java
index 1811365175..02478a179d 100644
--- a/artemis-cli/src/main/java/org/apache/activemq/artemis/cli/commands/Run.java
+++ b/artemis-cli/src/main/java/org/apache/activemq/artemis/cli/commands/Run.java
@@ -25,7 +25,6 @@ import io.airlift.airline.Option;
 import org.apache.activemq.artemis.cli.Artemis;
 import org.apache.activemq.artemis.cli.commands.tools.LockAbstract;
 import org.apache.activemq.artemis.components.ExternalComponent;
-import org.apache.activemq.artemis.core.config.impl.FileConfiguration;
 import org.apache.activemq.artemis.dto.BrokerDTO;
 import org.apache.activemq.artemis.dto.ComponentDTO;
 import org.apache.activemq.artemis.factory.BrokerFactory;
@@ -61,12 +60,8 @@ public class Run extends LockAbstract {
    public Object execute(ActionContext context) throws Exception {
       super.execute(context);
 
-      FileConfiguration fileConfiguration = getFileConfiguration();
-
       Artemis.printBanner();
 
-      createDirectories(getFileConfiguration());
-
       BrokerDTO broker = getBrokerDTO();
 
       addShutdownHook(broker.server.getConfigurationFile().getParentFile());
@@ -91,13 +86,6 @@ public class Run extends LockAbstract {
       return null;
    }
 
-   private void createDirectories(FileConfiguration fileConfiguration) {
-      fileConfiguration.getPagingLocation().mkdirs();
-      fileConfiguration.getJournalLocation().mkdirs();
-      fileConfiguration.getBindingsLocation().mkdirs();
-      fileConfiguration.getLargeMessagesLocation().mkdirs();
-   }
-
    /**
     * Add a simple shutdown hook to stop the server.
     *
diff --git a/artemis-cli/src/main/java/org/apache/activemq/artemis/integration/FileBroker.java b/artemis-cli/src/main/java/org/apache/activemq/artemis/integration/FileBroker.java
index 03df935483..e1126448c4 100644
--- a/artemis-cli/src/main/java/org/apache/activemq/artemis/integration/FileBroker.java
+++ b/artemis-cli/src/main/java/org/apache/activemq/artemis/integration/FileBroker.java
@@ -67,6 +67,8 @@ public class FileBroker implements Broker {
       fileDeploymentManager.addDeployable(configuration).addDeployable(jmsConfiguration);
       fileDeploymentManager.readConfiguration();
 
+      createDirectories(configuration);
+
       /**
        * This is a bit of a hack for backwards config compatibility since we no longer want to start the broker
        * using the JMSServerManager which would normally deploy JMS destinations. Here we take the JMS destination
@@ -112,6 +114,14 @@ public class FileBroker implements Broker {
 
    }
 
+
+   private void createDirectories(FileConfiguration fileConfiguration) {
+      fileConfiguration.getPagingLocation().mkdirs();
+      fileConfiguration.getJournalLocation().mkdirs();
+      fileConfiguration.getBindingsLocation().mkdirs();
+      fileConfiguration.getLargeMessagesLocation().mkdirs();
+   }
+
    @Override
    public void stop() throws Exception {
       stop(false);
diff --git a/artemis-cli/src/main/resources/org/apache/activemq/artemis/cli/commands/etc/broker.xml b/artemis-cli/src/main/resources/org/apache/activemq/artemis/cli/commands/etc/broker.xml
index a3b3d8a4d2..6276b76f21 100644
--- a/artemis-cli/src/main/resources/org/apache/activemq/artemis/cli/commands/etc/broker.xml
+++ b/artemis-cli/src/main/resources/org/apache/activemq/artemis/cli/commands/etc/broker.xml
@@ -56,10 +56,7 @@ ${ping-config.settings}${journal-buffer.settings}${connector-config.settings}
            that won't support flow control. -->
       <max-disk-usage>90</max-disk-usage>
 
-      <!-- the system will enter into page mode once you hit this limit.
-           This is an estimate in bytes of how much the messages are using in memory -->
-      <global-max-size>${global-max-size}</global-max-size>
-
+${global-max-section}
       <acceptors>
 
          <!-- useEpoll means: it will use Netty epoll if you are on a system (Linux) that supports it -->
diff --git a/artemis-cli/src/main/resources/org/apache/activemq/artemis/cli/commands/etc/global-max-default.txt b/artemis-cli/src/main/resources/org/apache/activemq/artemis/cli/commands/etc/global-max-default.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..2d029ac24b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/artemis-cli/src/main/resources/org/apache/activemq/artemis/cli/commands/etc/global-max-default.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+      <!-- the system will enter into page mode once you hit this limit.
+           This is an estimate in bytes of how much the messages are using in memory
+
+            The system will use half of the available memory (-Xmx) by default for the global-max-size.
+            You may specify a different value here if you need to customize it to your needs.
+
+            <global-max-size>100Mb</global-max-size>
+
+      -->
diff --git a/artemis-cli/src/main/resources/org/apache/activemq/artemis/cli/commands/etc/global-max-specified.txt b/artemis-cli/src/main/resources/org/apache/activemq/artemis/cli/commands/etc/global-max-specified.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..afea35b3ff
--- /dev/null
+++ b/artemis-cli/src/main/resources/org/apache/activemq/artemis/cli/commands/etc/global-max-specified.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+      <!-- the system will enter into page mode once you hit this limit.
+           This is an estimate in bytes of how much the messages are using in memory -->
+      <!--
+      <global-max-size>${global-max-size}</global-max-size>
diff --git a/artemis-cli/src/test/java/org/apache/activemq/cli/test/StreamClassPathTest.java b/artemis-cli/src/test/java/org/apache/activemq/cli/test/StreamClassPathTest.java
index f6d1fb3c63..c7fe76bba6 100644
--- a/artemis-cli/src/test/java/org/apache/activemq/cli/test/StreamClassPathTest.java
+++ b/artemis-cli/src/test/java/org/apache/activemq/cli/test/StreamClassPathTest.java
@@ -56,6 +56,8 @@ public class StreamClassPathTest {
       openStream(Create.ETC_STOMP_ACCEPTOR_TXT);
       openStream(Create.ETC_PING_TXT);
       openStream(Create.ETC_COMMENTED_PING_TXT);
+      openStream(Create.ETC_GLOBAL_MAX_SPECIFIED_TXT);
+      openStream(Create.ETC_GLOBAL_MAX_DEFAULT_TXT);
 
    }
 
diff --git a/artemis-core-client/src/main/java/org/apache/activemq/artemis/api/config/ActiveMQDefaultConfiguration.java b/artemis-core-client/src/main/java/org/apache/activemq/artemis/api/config/ActiveMQDefaultConfiguration.java
index c0d9db6eba..6d3cb81ec2 100644
--- a/artemis-core-client/src/main/java/org/apache/activemq/artemis/api/config/ActiveMQDefaultConfiguration.java
+++ b/artemis-core-client/src/main/java/org/apache/activemq/artemis/api/config/ActiveMQDefaultConfiguration.java
@@ -435,7 +435,7 @@ public final class ActiveMQDefaultConfiguration {
    // Default period to wait between configuration file checks
    public static final long DEFAULT_CONFIGURATION_FILE_REFRESH_PERIOD = 5000;
 
-   public static final long DEFAULT_GLOBAL_MAX_SIZE = -1;
+   public static final long DEFAULT_GLOBAL_MAX_SIZE = Runtime.getRuntime().maxMemory() / 2;
 
    public static final int DEFAULT_MAX_DISK_USAGE = 100;
 
diff --git a/artemis-server/src/main/java/org/apache/activemq/artemis/core/config/impl/ConfigurationImpl.java b/artemis-server/src/main/java/org/apache/activemq/artemis/core/config/impl/ConfigurationImpl.java
index 9372451a50..f230fb5783 100644
--- a/artemis-server/src/main/java/org/apache/activemq/artemis/core/config/impl/ConfigurationImpl.java
+++ b/artemis-server/src/main/java/org/apache/activemq/artemis/core/config/impl/ConfigurationImpl.java
@@ -253,7 +253,7 @@ public class ConfigurationImpl implements Configuration, Serializable {
 
    private long configurationFileRefreshPeriod = ActiveMQDefaultConfiguration.getDefaultConfigurationFileRefreshPeriod();
 
-   private long globalMaxSize = ActiveMQDefaultConfiguration.getDefaultMaxGlobalSize();
+   private Long globalMaxSize;
 
    private int maxDiskUsage = ActiveMQDefaultConfiguration.getDefaultMaxDiskUsage();
 
@@ -351,6 +351,10 @@ public class ConfigurationImpl implements Configuration, Serializable {
 
    @Override
    public long getGlobalMaxSize() {
+      if (globalMaxSize == null) {
+         this.globalMaxSize = ActiveMQDefaultConfiguration.getDefaultMaxGlobalSize();
+         ActiveMQServerLogger.LOGGER.usingDefaultPaging(globalMaxSize);
+      }
       return globalMaxSize;
    }
 
@@ -1792,7 +1796,7 @@ public class ConfigurationImpl implements Configuration, Serializable {
       if (journalDatasync != other.journalDatasync) {
          return false;
       }
-      if (globalMaxSize != other.globalMaxSize) {
+      if (globalMaxSize != null && !globalMaxSize.equals(other.globalMaxSize)) {
          return false;
       }
       if (maxDiskUsage != other.maxDiskUsage) {
diff --git a/artemis-server/src/main/java/org/apache/activemq/artemis/core/server/ActiveMQServerLogger.java b/artemis-server/src/main/java/org/apache/activemq/artemis/core/server/ActiveMQServerLogger.java
index 56a4d32086..df576b23c1 100644
--- a/artemis-server/src/main/java/org/apache/activemq/artemis/core/server/ActiveMQServerLogger.java
+++ b/artemis-server/src/main/java/org/apache/activemq/artemis/core/server/ActiveMQServerLogger.java
@@ -332,6 +332,13 @@ public interface ActiveMQServerLogger extends BasicLogger {
       format = Message.Format.MESSAGE_FORMAT)
    void reloadingConfiguration(String module);
 
+   @LogMessage(level = Logger.Level.INFO)
+   @Message(id = 221057, value = "Global Max Size is being adjusted to 1/2 of the JVM max size (-Xmx). being defined as {0}",
+      format = Message.Format.MESSAGE_FORMAT)
+   void usingDefaultPaging(long bytes);
+
+
+
    @LogMessage(level = Logger.Level.WARN)
    @Message(id = 222000, value = "ActiveMQServer is being finalized and has not been stopped. Please remember to stop the server before letting it go out of scope",
       format = Message.Format.MESSAGE_FORMAT)
diff --git a/docs/user-manual/en/configuration-index.md b/docs/user-manual/en/configuration-index.md
index d66b8b099a..720cb3851d 100644
--- a/docs/user-manual/en/configuration-index.md
+++ b/docs/user-manual/en/configuration-index.md
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ Name | Description
 [discovery-groups](clusters.md "Clusters")                           |  [a list of discovery-group](#discovery-group-type)
 [disk-scan-period](paging.md#max-disk-usage) | The interval where the disk is scanned for percentual usage. Default=5000 ms.
 [diverts](diverts.md "Diverting and Splitting Message Flows")        |  [a list of diverts to use](#divert-type)
-[global-max-size](paging.md#global-max-size) | The amount in bytes before all addresses are considered full
+[global-max-size](paging.md#global-max-size) | The amount in bytes before all addresses are considered full. Default is half of the memory used by the JVM (-Xmx argument).
 [graceful-shutdown-enabled](graceful-shutdown.md "Graceful Server Shutdown")      |  true means that graceful shutdown is enabled. Default=true
 [graceful-shutdown-timeout](graceful-shutdown.md "Graceful Server Shutdown")      |  Timeout on waitin for clients to disconnect before server shutdown. Default=-1
 [grouping-handler](message-grouping.md "Message Grouping")             |  Message Group configuration
diff --git a/docs/user-manual/en/paging.md b/docs/user-manual/en/paging.md
index 9f462872aa..833643527d 100644
--- a/docs/user-manual/en/paging.md
+++ b/docs/user-manual/en/paging.md
@@ -126,6 +126,8 @@ Beyond the max-size-bytes on the address you can also set the global-max-size on
 
 When you have more messages than what is configured global-max-size any new produced message will make that destination to go through its paging policy. 
 
+global-max-size is calculated as half of the max memory available to the Java Virtual Machine, unless specified on the broker.xml configuration.
+
 ## Dropping messages
 
 Instead of paging messages when the max size is reached, an address can