You have a SharePoint Server 2013 Service Pack 1 (SP1) server farm. The farm contains a
web application named WebApp1. WebApp1 contains a content database named
ContentDB1. For WebApp1, you create an additional content database named
ContentDB2. You need to ensure that all new site collections are created in ContentDB2.
The solution must ensure that users can access all of the site collectios in ContentDB1.
What should you do?
A.
Define a new managed path.
B.
Configure the site collection quotas and locks.
C.
Configure the User Policy of WebApp1.
D.
Set the database status of ContentDB1 to Offline.
Explanation:
Designate which Content Database your new Site Collection is created in.
According to an article I read this evening and statements that I have seen at least 3 other places just this
week the only way to designate which content database your new site collection is going to be created in is to
use stsadm and create the content database and sitecollection at the same time.
Not so say I! It is possible to use the Central Administration GUI to determine which content databaseyour new
site collection will be created in. The solution isnot elegant but it does work for creating site collections in new
and existing content databases and does not requireusing stsadm.
If you follow the steps Im going to outline you can pick the content database you want to create yournew site
collection in from the Web Application Management and Site Management sections of your Central
Administration page. For the last 3 years I have been using the following process when I create my site
collections and it works quite well.
Under the Application Management section access theContent Databases link.
In the upper right hand corner make sure you are inthe correct Web Application. If you arent then change to
the correct one.
Click the link for each Content Database you have listed under the Database Name heading.
When the Manage Content Database Settings page opens set the Database Status to Offline and then
click OK. After you click ok youll be taken backto the Manage Content Databases page where the database
you just changed should now show as Stopped.
Click the Add a Content Database link and create a new content database. Do not make any changes to the
Database Status setting. It will show as Started in the list of Content Databases. You will also notice that the
Current Number of Sites will be equal to 0.
Navigate to the SharePoint Site Management section and create your new site collection.
Go back to the Manage Content Databases list and you will now see that the Content Database you just
created now shows that the Current Number of Sites is equal to 1.
You have just created a new site collection in the content database of your choice.
As long as a content database is in the Stopped state no new site collections can be created within that
content database. You can still create sites, or more accurately I suppose Webs but not site collections.
If you had 15 content databases in the list and allwere in the stopped state and you tried to create a new site
collection SharePoint would throw an error message (that doesnt say anything about there not being a content
database available to create the new site collection in). Pick the content database you want your new site
collection to reside in, set the state to Startedand then you will be able to create the site collection in the
database you want.
Ill update this with screenshots as soon as I finish putting the final touches on my presentation forSharePoint
Saturday in Atlanta next weekend and Huntsville on May 1st.
April 9th, 2013 | Category: Architecture, Best Practices, Configuration
7 comments to Designate which Content Database yournew Site Collection is created in.
Rebecca
April 23, 2013 at 1:24 PM
Jay,
I had a question. Couldnt you just change the number of maximum number of sites that can be created to the
actual number of sites you have already created in the old content database. Then create the new content
database and add a new site collection and it should go to the new database you just created since theother
one is maxed out. I only bring this up because I know personally where I work you cannot just stop the
database during the day since this would bring downthe site. I would have to wait until our maintenance
window which is once a week for 2 hours.
jsimcox
April 23, 2013 at 8:18 PM
Hi Rebecca,
Youre not actually stopping the database as such. When you set a content database to Offline all you are
doing is preventing any more site collections (remember were talking about site collections, not sites or more
accurately, webs) from being created in that database. Your sites/webs will still be online and you can also
continue to create more sites, add content, etc
To expand on the question there is another way to set the number of site collections that can be created in a
content database in the Central Administration UI. As it was explained to me by Michael Noel SharePoint uses
an algorithm to determine which content database isused to house a new site collection. This algorithm is
based on how much available capacity exists across all content DBs. So, the best way to do this is to simply
raise the maximum number of sites in the DB you want to a very high number, then creating the new site
collection, which will now go to the DB with the most available room, so to speak. (quoted content courtesy of
Michael Noel)
For me specifically, I manage a small enough environment that I dont have to worry about hundreds, or
thousands of content databases. Your situation may be different and should be treated accordingly. If youre
managing several hundred content databases Id go with the solution described by Michael, it makes toomuch
sense not to do it that way.
There are a number of ways to do it. You just need to decide which way fits your needs best.
http://www.sharepointmechanic.com/?p=340
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