SQL Server On Compressed Drives

Like many SQL Server users, I always knew that placing the MDF and LDF files for a SQL Server database on a compressed drive was a bad idea. But exactly why?

Here is a link to a well written, well thought out explanation of exactly why placing SQL Server data files on a compressed drive is a bad idea. Ken Henderson wrote the article, and Ken is someone who really knows a lot about SQL Server, and an awful lot about writing server-based applications.

In short, the reason why a compressed drive is a particularly bad idea is that when reading and writing to a compressed drive, Windows never honors a request for asynchronous I/O, something that slows down operations a great deal.

Posted by Douglas Reilly at 01:11 PM  Permalink