Control the number of VLFs

Pre-allocate the maximum size of data and log files. For better performance, control the number of virtual log files (VLFs) by pre-allocating the space and correcting the automatic growth (autogrow) settings for log files.

Typically, an autogrow factor of 8 GB works well in most production environments. Consider growing the transaction log files in 8-GB chunks. A higher number of VLFs can extend the backup and recovery time for the database, and can cause performance issues with any operation (for example, replication) that requires going through the log files.

For more information about the VLF creation and growth algorithm, see the SQLskills blog.