Are you confused with how to shrink database in MSSQL? We can help you do it.

Usually, we remove the unwanted logs to shrink the database in MSSQL.

At Bobcares, we often receive requests to shrink database in MSSQL as part of our Server Management Services.

Today, let’s discuss how our Support Engineers do it easily for our customers.

Why shrink a database?

Before going deep into the procedures of shrinking a database, firstly let’s see the importance of shrinking a database.

Shrinking will reduce the size of log files like a transaction log file.

And, a transaction log is a file which is an integral part of every SQL Server database.

It contains log records that are produced during the logging process in a SQL Server database.

Therefore, the shrinking of the transaction log in the database is an effective practice to reduce the size of the database.

However, the decision to shrink the database needs additional precautions. This is because in many cases, the shrink operation increases fragmentation of the database. And, this higher fragmentation reduces the performance of the database. Therefore, our Support Engineers recommend this operation only when necessary.

How to shrink the database in MSSQL?

Usually, we shrink the database when the log files increase the disk space usage.

Now, let’s see in detail how to shrink the transaction log in the database.

Recently, one of our customers approached us to shrink the database. His transaction log was consuming too much of storage space.

Our Support Engineers helped him to shrink the database.

And, we followed the below steps to do it.

• Firstly, we logged into Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio.
• Next, we took a backup of the database.
• Then, we selected the database.
• After that, we right-clicked on the database and selected the Task option.
• Then, from the task option, we selected the Shrink -> Database option.
• Lastly, we clicked OK.

Thus, we shrank the database effectively for our customers.

[Need more assistance to shrink the database? We are available 24/7]

Conclusion

In short, the shrinking of the database is an effective practice to reduce the size of the database. In today’s writeup, we saw how our Support Engineers effectively helped our customer to shrink his MSSQL database.