In addition to using SQL Enterprise Manager, you can also administer database devices using the DISK INIT statement and several system stored procedures. The DISK INIT statement is used to reserve and format physical storage for database devices. A summary of the stored procedures follows. For more information on each, see the Microsoft SQL Server Transact-SQL Reference.
Note that you are not required to use the DISK INIT statement or stored procedures to manage database devices. In most cases, SQL Enterprise Manager is the recommended tool.
| Stored procedure | Description |
|---|---|
| sp_diskdefault | Sets a database device's status to indicate whether the device can be used for database storage when the user does not specify a database device or specifies DEFAULT with the CREATE DATABASE or ALTER DATABASE statement. |
| sp_dropdevice | Removes a SQL Server database device or dump device. |
| sp_helpdevice | Reports information about SQL Server database devices and dump devices. |
| sp_logdevice | Puts the syslogs system table, which contains the transaction log, on a separate database device. |