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Changing the Size of the Database FilesLocate this document in the navigation structure

Use

When the SAP system is installed with SQL Server, the SAP database is normally created with four, eight or sixteen data files and one log file. It is important that there is always enough space available for the database and log files to avoid that the SAP system might come to a standstill due to space shortage. Therefore the administrator always has to keep track of the amount of free space. We recommend that you increase the size manually one to four times a year depending on the expected database growth.

We also recommend to enable the autogrow option for database files in case of emergency. If autogrow is enabled, database files automatically grow when they are full, provided that enough space is still available on the disk. You can determine for each file the amount it can grow by a growth increment. If the growth increment for the data files and log files is set to 100 MB, a file automatically grows by 100 MB when it is full. With this option, you can also reduce the risk that processing in the SAPsystem stops due to space shortage. However note that autogrow can lead to performance problems and is to be used in emergency cases only.

Procedure

To set the size for the different databases in your system and enable autogrow, proceed as follows:

  1. In the SQL Server Management Studio, expand the server and Databases.
  2. Right-click a database and choose Properties.

    The Database Properties dialog box opens.

  3. To change the settings for data and log files switch to the Files tab.
  4. In the Initial Size (MB) column, specify the amount for the database and log files.
  5. Click the ellipses in the Autogrowth column.
    • Enable the Autogrowth checkbox.
    • In the File growth section, specify the amount the selected file must grow when it becomes full. You can specify file growth in MB or as a percentage of the total file size.
    • In the Maximum file size section, select Restrict filegrowth (MB) and enter the size the selected file can grow to, or choose Unrestricted file growth.
  6. Confirm your entries with OK.