This article describes how to plan for and configure the storage and Microsoft SQL Server database tier in a SharePoint 2010 environment.
The capacity planning information in this article provides guidelines for you to use in your planning. It is based on testing performed at Microsoft on live properties. However, your results may vary based on the equipment you use and the features and functionality that you implement for your sites.
This article assumes that you are familiar with the concepts presented in Capacity management and sizing for SharePoint Server 2010.
Estimate content database storage
The following process describes how to approximately estimate the storage required for content databases, without considering log files:
1. Calculate the expected number of documents. This value is referred to as D in the formula.
2. Estimate the average size of the documents that you will be storing. This value is referred to as S in the formula.
3. Estimate the number of list items in the environment. This value is referred to as L in the formula. List items are more difficult to estimate than documents.
4. Determine the approximate number of versions. This value is referred to as V in the formula. The value of V must be above zero.
5. Use the following formula to estimate the size of your content databases:
Database size = ((D × V) × S) + (10 KB × (L + (V × D)))
The value of 10 KB in the formula is a constant that roughly estimates the amount of metadata required by SharePoint Server 2010. If your system requires significant use of metadata, you may want to increase this constant.
As an example, if you were to use the formula to estimate the amount of storage space required for the data files for a content database in a collaboration environment with the following characteristics, you would need approximately 105 GB.
Input
|
Value
|
Number of documents (D)
|
200,000
Calculated by assuming 10,000 users times 20 documents
|
Average size of documents (S)
|
250 KB
|
List items (L)
|
600,000
|
Number of non-current versions (V)
|
2
Assuming that the maximum versions allowed is 10
|
Database size = (((200,000 x 2)) × 250) + ((10 KB × (600,000 + (200,000 x 2))) = 110,000,000 KB or 105 GB
Download the Excel sheet for easy calculations.
