Does shrinking a SQL Server datafile will cause temporary outage?

Question

Hello, does shrinking a SQL Server datafile will cause temporary outage?

I heard it's not good practice to do in general in causing fragmentation but other than that anything else to be aware of?

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Hi @techresearch7777777 ,

No, it will not cause outage but can cause performance issues.

Quote from MS document.

>Other users can work in the database during file shrinking - the database doesn't have to be in single-user mode.

Please also check if below similar thread could help you.

Does Shrinking a database create downtime?

Before shrinking a SQL Server database or database files, it is very important to understand how the process works and what are the immediate consequences of the shrinking process. Please refer to this blog SQL Server database shrink – How and when to schedule and perform shrinking of database files. or read the MS document I offered above.

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Answer 2

Thanks for all the replies.

Answer 3

It don't cause an outtake of the database, but high I/O workload, index fragmentation and so poor performance.