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SQL Server VLF Files in Detail

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SQL Server VLF Files in Detail

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Rofiq Ahmed
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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com
Virtual Log Files (VLF) in SQL Server: Detailed Explanation

Virtual Log Files (VLFs) are an integral part of SQL Server's transaction log architecture. Understanding how
VLFs work and how to manage them effectively is important for maintaining database performance,
especially in databases with frequent write transactions.

1. What Are Virtual Log Files (VLFs)?

SQL Server's transaction log (LDF) is divided into smaller, internal chunks called Virtual Log Files (VLFs).
These VLFs help manage the log file, keeping track of the active and inactive portions, which are essential
for operations like recovery, backup, and rollback.

Each time a transaction log grows or is manually expanded, SQL Server creates more VLFs. SQL Server
manages the size and number of these VLFs based on the initial size and the growth size of the transaction
log.

2. How VLFs Are Created

Whenever a transaction log is created or grows, it is divided into several VLFs. The number of VLFs created
during a log file growth event depends on the size of the growth, whether the log grows manually or through
auto-growth settings.

Here’s how SQL Server typically divides the log file during growth:

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- If the growth is less than 1 MB, 1 VLF is created.
- If the growth is between 1 MB and 64 MB, 4 VLFs are created.
- If the growth is between 64 MB and 1 GB, 8 VLFs are created.
- If the growth is greater than 1 GB, 16 VLFs are created.

This process continues every time the transaction log grows, either manually or automatically, based on the
defined auto-growth settings.

3. VLF States and How SQL Server Uses VLFs

Each VLF has a state that indicates whether it's in use or not:
- Active VLFs: These VLFs contain log records that are necessary for ongoing transactions or recovery. SQL
Server cannot truncate active VLFs.
- Inactive VLFs: These VLFs contain log records that are no longer needed (i.e., the records have been
backed up, and the corresponding transactions have been committed or rolled back). SQL Server can
truncate inactive VLFs during log backups.

SQL Server writes transactions to the active portion of the log file, and as it moves forward, VLFs that are no
longer required for recovery are marked as inactive, allowing SQL Server to reuse or truncate them.

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4. Why Too Many VLFs Are a Problem

While VLFs are essential for managing transaction logs, having too many small VLFs can negatively impact
performance. Issues include:

- Slower recovery times: During database startup or after a crash, SQL Server has to examine the VLFs to
determine which ones are active. If there are thousands of VLFs, this can slow down the recovery process.
- Log growth performance: When too many VLFs are present, the performance of transaction log growth can
degrade.
- Backup and restore performance: Transaction log backups and restores can take longer if there are an
excessive number of VLFs.

5. How to Check the Number of VLFs in a Database

You can use the `DBCC LOGINFO` command or the sys.dm_db_log_info dynamic management function
(available from SQL Server 2017 onward) to check the number of VLFs in your transaction log.

Using `DBCC LOGINFO` (Pre-SQL Server 2017)

USE YourDatabaseName;
DBCC LOGINFO;

This command returns one row for each VLF in the transaction log, with columns like `FileId`, `Size`,
`FSeqNo`, and `Status`.

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- Status: 0 indicates an inactive VLF, and 2 indicates an active VLF.

Using `sys.dm_db_log_info` (SQL Server 2017 and Later)

SELECT * FROM sys.dm_db_log_info(DB_ID('YourDatabaseName'));

This view provides a more detailed and modern way to view VLF information, showing you the `file_id`,
`vlf_sequence_number`, `vlf_size_mb`, `vlf_active`, and more.

Example Query to Count the Number of VLFs

SELECT COUNT(*) AS VLF_Count


FROM sys.dm_db_log_info(DB_ID('YourDatabaseName'));

This query counts the number of VLFs in your database, giving you an indication of whether there are too
many.

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6. Optimizing VLFs: Best Practices

a. Proper Auto-Growth Settings for Transaction Logs

One of the most important steps in managing VLFs is configuring the transaction log’s auto-growth settings
properly. Default settings in SQL Server (such as percentage-based growth) can lead to inefficient
transaction log growth and result in many small VLFs.

Best Practices:
- Avoid percentage-based auto-growth: It can lead to erratic growth patterns. Instead, use a fixed size
growth.
- For example, set the log file to grow in 512 MB or 1 GB increments rather than a percentage.

b. Pre-Size the Transaction Log

- Pre-allocate the size of the transaction log based on the expected workload and growth patterns. This
prevents frequent auto-growth events and the creation of many small VLFs.

For example:

ALTER DATABASE YourDatabaseName


MODIFY FILE (NAME = N'YourDatabase_Log', SIZE = 10240MB); -- Pre-size log to 10 GB

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c. Shrink the Transaction Log to Reorganize VLFs

If you already have too many VLFs, you can reduce the number by shrinking the transaction log and then
immediately increasing its size back to the desired size to create fewer, larger VLFs.

Steps to Shrink and Reorganize the Log:


1. Back up the transaction log to truncate inactive VLFs.
2. Shrink the log to a small size using `DBCC SHRINKFILE`.
3. Grow the log back to an appropriate size in one or two steps to minimize the number of VLFs created.

Example: Shrink and Resize Log File

-- Step 1: Backup transaction log


BACKUP LOG YourDatabaseName TO DISK = 'D:\Backup\YourDatabaseName_Log.bak';

-- Step 2: Shrink the log file


DBCC SHRINKFILE ('YourDatabase_Log', 500); -- Shrink to 500 MB

-- Step 3: Resize the log file to a larger, appropriate size


ALTER DATABASE YourDatabaseName
MODIFY FILE (NAME = N'YourDatabase_Log', SIZE = 10240MB); -- Set to 10 GB

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7. Monitoring VLFs

Regularly monitoring the number of VLFs is essential to ensure that they are being created efficiently. You
can schedule periodic checks of the VLF count using the queries mentioned earlier and adjust auto-growth
settings as necessary.

Setting Alerts for Excessive VLFs

To avoid performance issues, consider setting up alerts to monitor if the number of VLFs exceeds a certain
threshold (e.g., 1000).

8. Effects of VLFs on Log Backup and Restore

The number of VLFs directly affects transaction log backups and restores. With a high number of VLFs, the
backup and restore process may take longer since SQL Server needs to process each VLF. Reducing the
number of VLFs can improve these processes, especially for large databases.

Summary

Virtual Log Files (VLFs) are essential components of the SQL Server transaction log architecture.

Proper management of VLFs through correct auto-growth settings and pre-sizing the log file is key to
maintaining database performance.

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Large numbers of VLFs can lead to performance bottlenecks during database startup, log backups, and
restores.

By optimizing transaction log settings and regularly monitoring VLFs, DBAs can ensure that their databases
run efficiently without transaction log-related issues.

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