Microsoft KB Archive/925277

= FIX: You may experience very large growth increments of a principal database after you manually fail over a database mirroring session in SQL Server 2005 =

Article ID: 925277

Article Last Modified on 11/20/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Developer Edition
 * Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Enterprise Edition
 * Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Standard X64 Edition
 * Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Standard Edition for Itanium-based Systems
 * Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Enterprise X64 Edition
 * Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Enterprise Edition for Itanium-based Systems

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Bug #: 50000246 (SQL Hotfix)



Notice
Microsoft distributes Microsoft SQL Server 2005 fixes as one downloadable file. Because the fixes are cumulative, each new release contains all the hotfixes and all the security fixes that were included with the previous SQL Server 2005 fix release.



This article describes the following about this hotfix release:
 * The issues that are fixed by this hotfix package
 * The prerequisites for installing the hotfix package
 * Information about whether you must restart the computer after you install the hotfix package
 * Information about whether the hotfix package is replaced by any other hotfix package
 * Information about whether you must make any registry changes
 * The files that are contained in the hotfix package



SYMPTOMS
After you manually fail over a database mirroring session in SQL Server 2005, the growth type of the principal database may change to percentage instead of fixed size. Therefore, you experience very large growth increments of the transaction log files and data files of the principal database. This problem occurs if the following conditions are true:
 * The ALTER DATABASE statement is used on the principal database to change the file growth to a fixed file size growth.
 * Before the failover occurs, the growth option in the sysfiles table of the principal database does not match the growth option in the master.dbo.sysaltfiles system table on the new principal server.

The most common scenario is that this problem only affects the growth of the transaction log files of the database. However, this problem can also affect data files in some scenarios.



RESOLUTION
A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next service pack that contains this hotfix.

To resolve this problem, submit a request to Microsoft Online Customer Services to obtain the hotfix. To submit an online request to obtain the hotfix, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=6294451

Note If additional issues occur or any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. To create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support

Prerequisites
You must have SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 1 (SP1) installed to apply this hotfix.

For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

913089 How to obtain the latest service pack for SQL Server 2005

Restart information
You do not have to restart the computer after you apply this hotfix.

Registry information
You do not have to change the registry.

Hotfix file information
This hotfix contains only those files that are required to correct the issues that this article lists. This hotfix may not contain of all the files that you must have to fully update a product to the latest build.

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time item in Control Panel.

SQL Server 2005 Itanium architecture version


WORKAROUND
To work around this issue, follow these steps:
 * 1) Use the ALTER DATABASE statement to set the file growth to a percentage growth.
 * 2) Perform a manual failover of the database mirroring session.
 * 3) Use the ALTER DATABASE statement to set the file growth to the correct type and amount.



STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the &quot;Applies to&quot; section.

