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The optimal datafile configuration depends on many factors like the workload characteristics, storage type, database size, etc. Some general guidance:
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Using multiple datafiles allows you to distribute I/O across different underlying storage volumes, which can improve performance for heavy workloads. This is most relevant when using provisioned IOPS storage.
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Separating datafiles onto different volumes can also help with backup/recovery time as you can backup/restore individual filegroups.
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As the database grows, using multiple datafiles gives more granular control over storage allocation and distribution.
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Too many datafiles can add management overhead and allocation contention if not designed properly.
So in summary, using multiple datafiles can help performance and manageability if done thoughtfully based on the specific database usage patterns and infrastructure. But it's not necessarily required or beneficial in all cases. Testing different configurations is advisable to determine the optimal approach.
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Hi thanks for your response, but I can;t see how I could "distribute I/O across different underlying storage volumes" as RDS doesn't give visibility of the OS or storage layer, all I see if I try to add a new datafile is 'D:\rdsdbdata\DATA', and that's probably an abstraction anyway. Perhaps what you suggest is possible in RDS Custom but I'm asking about RDS. Is it then the case that there is no benefit in defining multiple database datafiles in RDS ?