What is the LDF file in SQL Server

Question

What is the LDF file in SQL Server  what is its purpose   can I safely delete it  or reduce its size because sometimes it s 10x larger than the database file mdf

User · Answer

The LDF is the transaction log  It keeps a record of everything done to the database for rollback purposes     You do not want to delete  but you can shrink it with the dbcc shrinkfile command  You can also right-click on the database in SQL Server Management Studio and go to Tasks   Shrink

User · Answer

The LDF file holds the database transaction log  See  for example  http   www databasedesign-resource com sql-server-transaction-log html for a full explanation  There are ways to shrink the transaction file  for example  see http   support microsoft com kb 873235

User · Answer

LDF holds the transaction log  If you set your backups correctly - it will be small  It it grows - you have a very common problem of setting database recovery mode to FULL and then forgetting to backup the transaction log  LDF file   Let me explain how to fix it    If your business can afford to lose a little data between backups  just set the database recovery mode to SIMPLE  then forget about LDF - it will be small  This is the recommended solution for most of the cases  If you have to be able to restore to the exact point in time - use FULL recovery mode  In this case you have to take regular Transaction Log backups  The simplest way to do it is to use a tool like SqlBackupAndFTP  disclosure - I am a developer   The log file will be truncated at this time and would not grow beyond certain limits    Some would suggest to use SHRINKFILE to trim you log  Note that this is OK only as an exception  If you do it regularly  it defeats the purpose of FULL recovery model  first you go into trouble of saving every single change in the log  then you just dump it  Set recovery mode to SIMPLE instead

User · Answer

The LDF stand for  Log database file  and it is the transaction log  It keeps a record of everything done to the database for rollback purposes  you can restore a database even you lost  msf file because it contain all control information plus transaction information

User · Answer

ldf saves the log of the db  certainly doesn t saves any real data  but is very important for the proper function of the database   You can however change the log model to the database to simple so this log does not grow too fast   Check this for example   Check here for reference

[sql-server] What is the LDF file in SQL Server?

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