Over time, as data is deleted and added, the data files within your geodatabases may break into increasingly smaller, scattered fragments. This can cause performance degradation because queries have to scan an increasing number of separate files to access the data the first time it is queried or when it is updated.
To correct this, you can shrink geodatabases stored in SQL Server Express. Shrinking the geodatabase rearranges how the database is stored on disk, reducing the size of the data files.
You should not need to shrink your geodatabases very often. In fact, doing so can be detrimental: a shrink operation can increase index fragmentation in the database.
In addition, if you find that the geodatabase size increases to its preshrunk state shortly after you shrink it, it means the space that you shrank is required for regular operations; therefore, the shrink operation was not needed.
Some operations, such as dropping a table, can create unused space in the database. If you find your geodatabase in SQL Server Express is getting close to its size limit of 4 GB, you could follow the steps below to shrink the database and possibly gain some extra storage space.
The steps below outline how to shrink a geodatabase that is stored on an ArcSDE database server. If you are using a SQL Server database with an ArcGIS Server Enterprise license, please consult the SQL Server Books Online for information on shrinking databases.
