Regarding how to compress the data file

Hi Guys,
I have question Regarding how to compress the data file. IN my company, the
data file is getting bigger and bigger. Is that a way to compress the
database file to make it smaller so that we can save some disk space. Thanks.
Iter,
First: Do NOT try to used compressed drives.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/231347/EN-US/
Use DBCC SHOWCONTIG to determine if your dataspace is badly fragmented or,
in SQL 2005, examine the sys.dm_db_index_physical_stats dynamic management
view. If that is a problem, then reorganizing the database space will help
some. Use:
DBCC DBREINDEX or (SQL 2005) ALTER INDEX ... REBUILD ...
However, the biggest problem is usually retaining more data online than is
actually needed. That would require a policy decision on data retention and
then some development to either archive or delete the expired data. (Of
course, if you keep your archive online, then you have not saved a lot of
disk space, but you may have improved database performance.)
RLF
"Iter" <Iter@.discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:7786B9FF-FE35-44E6-B92F-8158977FFFFB@.microsoft.com...
> Hi Guys,
> I have question Regarding how to compress the data file. IN my company,
> the
> data file is getting bigger and bigger. Is that a way to compress the
> database file to make it smaller so that we can save some disk space.
> Thanks.
>
|||Hi
"Iter" wrote:

> Hi Guys,
> I have question Regarding how to compress the data file. IN my company, the
> data file is getting bigger and bigger. Is that a way to compress the
> database file to make it smaller so that we can save some disk space. Thanks.
>
I don't think having data files on compressed drives is officially
supported, and compressing the datafile will have a sever impact on
performance.
If you are actually wanting to shrink the database file then, this is not
usually recommended as it can effect performance (see
http://www.karaszi.com/SQLServer/info_dont_shrink.asp) unless you have an
unusually high amount of free space in the database that you are unlikely to
use (such as the growth rate is a percentage rather than a fixed amount).
Look at sp_spaceused to see the unused space. DBCC SHRINKFILE can be used to
shrink the file.
John
sql