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Asked: 2026-05-17T17:04:28+00:00

I have read that it is a good idea to have one file per

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I have read that it is a good idea to have one file per CPU/CPU Core so that SQL can more efficiently stream data to and from the disks. Ok, I can see the benefit if they are on different spindles, but what if I only have one spindle (4 drives in Raid 10) for my data files (.mdf and .ndf), will I still benefit from splitting the data files (from just the .mdf file to a .mdf and several .ndf files)? Same goes for the log file, although I see no benefit to it as the data has to be written serially and you’re limited by the spindle’s sequential write speed…

FYI, this is in regards to SQL Server 2005/2008…

Thanks.

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  1. Editorial Team

    The recommendation for multiple tempdb data files is definitely not about IOPS. It is about contention on the allocation pages (GAM, SGAM, PFS) in tempdb. SQL 2005+ doesn’t require as big of a load on these pages, but contention still occurs. Not all system require a 1 file to 1 core mapping. Most sytems will perform well with 1 file to 2 or 4 cores. Having too many files adds overhead for managing the files. A good recommendation is to start with 1:4 or 1:2 and increasing if contention continues. Don’t go above 1:1.

    For other databases, this is not recommended.

    And yes, only 1 log file … always.

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