How many bytes does a NULL nvarchar value take?

• Olja Dimitrijevic

  Ten Centuries

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  July 20, 2006 at 12:48 pm

  #97409

  I am doing some storage calculations and have a simple question for a person in the know: how many bytes does an nvarchar NULL take? Is this the same for Varchar?

  Thanks,

  Olja

• Rudyx - the Doctor

  SSC-Forever

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  July 21, 2006 at 12:48 pm

  #650828

  With no data in the nvarchar column whatsoever - 2 bytes (1 indicating nullability, one indicating length) and 1 bit in the null bit map.

  Check out BOL for all of the 'gory' details:

  • Estimating the Size of a Table
  • Estimating the Size of a Table Without a Clustered Index
  • Estimating the Size of a Table with a Clustered Index

  RegardsRudy KomacsarSenior Database Administrator"Ave Caesar! - Morituri te salutamus."