Too Much Unused Space A Performance Issue?

  • Hi let me first say I know shrinking a Database is bad for fragmentation.

    What I want to know is with a very large database, does it cause a performance issue to have a lot of unused space. I'm talking about a 1.8 TB database with 475 GB of unused space.

    I ask this not because I want to shrink it, but because I want to avoid the manual file growth requirement (not set by me) to grow the data file when there is less than 20% free space.

    I'd prefer to configure auto growth at 8GB and let it roll which got me thinking about, "how does the amount of free space within a data file relate to performance"?

    Thanks!

  • The only thing I can think of that might be a performance effect of this is having data be physically "far apart" on disks, leading to a few extra milliseconds of access/seek time. But as long as you aren't serving this up on 4 disks or something I think that would be a minimal effect.

    Best,
    Kevin G. Boles
    SQL Server Consultant
    SQL MVP 2007-2012
    TheSQLGuru on googles mail service

  • Jon.Morisi (9/6/2013)


    Does it cause a performance issue to have a lot of unused space.

    No.

    Gail Shaw
    Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
    SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability

    We walk in the dark places no others will enter
    We stand on the bridge and no one may pass

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