Ever wonder how big a table really is in your database? You know there are a million rows in the table, but how much space is that really taking?

SQL Server provides a built-in stored procedure that you can run to easily show the size of a table, including the size of the indexes… which might surprise you.

Syntax:

sp_spaceused ‘Tablename’

Here’s an example of it in action:

Highly useful stuff. It’s always interesting to see that the indexes are bigger than the actual data.

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Lowell is the founder and CEO of How-To Geek. He’s been running the show since creating the site back in 2006. Over the last decade, Lowell has personally written more than 1000 articles which have been viewed by over 250 million people. Prior to starting How-To Geek, Lowell spent 15 years working in IT doing consulting, cybersecurity, database management, and programming work.
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