I have a SharePoint 2007 database that is 16GB in size and I want to know why, and how I can reduce the size. Ideally I would like a trimmed replica to use as a developer workstation that retains a good sample data set, and has the ability to be refreshed.
Can you please tell me if there are any third party tools or other methods to accomplish this? I have found the Microsoft tool (stsadm) to be very limited in this regard.
My first port of call would be SQL Server Management Studio. This is available even with the Express version (download the "with tools" edition, or download SSMS as separate package).
Is 16GB a reasonable size for your database? It is quite easy to set up a database with a FULL recovery model and no log backup schedule, which can result in huge database files as the log is never truncated. This is easy to check in SSMS.
If you need a lightweight version of your content database for development you will need to restore a backup to your development environment and start deleting content. After doing this you might need to do a SHRINK of your database.
You can use the Storage Space Allocation page (URL: http://[site]/_layouts/storman.aspx) to view details about the storage that is being used.
However, it is not available, unless a site has a storage quota defined.
Check the SharePoint Quotas Overview post for more information.
Infonic have the world leading replication platform that can be used to replicate all or selected sections of your SharePoint installation efficiently over the network.
