The SQL Server Drives page shows storage drive information for the SQL Server host. It helps DBAs identify disk capacity risks and storage pressure affecting database files.
What to look for
- Low free space.
- Unusual drive growth.
- Drives hosting data, log, tempdb, backup, or system files.
- Storage issues that correlate with database file growth.
Workflow
- Open Drives for the SQL Server.
- Review free space and drive status.
- Open Files to see database file placement.
- Check Waits for I/O wait symptoms.
- Review alerts for capacity warnings.
How to interpret SQL Server drive metrics
Drive metrics show host-level storage capacity and pressure for the SQL Server machine. Use this page when disk space alerts fire, database files grow, backups fail, or I/O waits increase. It helps connect SQL Server database files to the underlying drives that store them.
Start with low free space and rapid growth. Then compare the affected drive with SQL Server Files to identify which databases and file types are involved. If users report slowness at the same time, check SQL Server Waits for storage-related waits and SQL Server Activity for workload context.
Drive metrics depend on host visibility. If host OS login is not configured, some operating system storage counters may be unavailable. See Host OS Login for Windows and Linux host metric options, and Enable WMI For SQL Server Monitoring for Windows WMI permissions.
When SQL Server exposes capacity through sys.dm_os_volume_stats but Mini DBA has no host OS access, the Drives page operates in capacity-only mode. It hides performance columns and charts rather than presenting zeroes. The page explains how to configure OS Login access. Linux performance collection requires SSH access plus df and iostat (normally supplied by the sysstat package); Windows requires suitable performance-counter and WMI access.
SQL Server drives FAQ
Is low free space the only storage risk?
No. Latency, growth rate, file placement, backup location, and I/O waits can all indicate risk.
Why do database and drive sizes not match exactly?
SQL Server files, backups, operating system files, other applications, snapshots, and reserved space may all use the same drive.
What should I do before adding storage?
Identify which files are growing, why they are growing, and whether retention, backups, or workload changes explain the trend.