MASTER Device Options

When you install SQL Server the setup program creates the MASTER database device, which is used to store the master, model, and tempdb system databases and transaction logs and, optionally, the pubs sample database and transaction log. During installation, the setup program prompts you to provide settings for these MASTER database device options:

Drive

The drive on which the MASTER database device will be installed. The default is C.

Directory

The path and filename for the MASTER database device. The default is \SQL60\DATA\MASTER.DAT.

The directory and filenames must conform to the FAT 8.3 naming convention, even if installed on an NTFS volume.

MASTER Device Size (MB)

The space to be allocated to the MASTER database device. The default (and minimum) size is 25 MB. If you have sufficient disk space, consider making the MASTER database device even larger. This will save you time later, as your need for additional space grows.

Note that if you later determine you need additional device space, you can use DISK RESIZE to increase the size of the MASTER database device. For information about DISK RESIZE, see the Microsoft SQL Server Transact-SQL Reference.