SQL Server® 2008 Administration: Real World Skills for MCITP Certification and Beyond

Database Storage

SQL Server databases are stored in files. That much is obvious. However, what may not be immediately apparent is that you can use more than one file with a database. Additionally, you can use filegroups to organize these files. This section will cover the concepts of files and filegroups, so that you can make good decisions for the storage of your databases. Additionally, it will address transaction logs and make some recommendations for the storage of the logs and the default sizes you should implement.

Database Data Files

The default extension for the single data file used with a small database is .mdf. MDF stands for master data file. Every database has one and only one MDF file. The MDF file contains the database schema information ...