[dba-SQLServer] Database Files

In the quest to get sufficient storage to do the nVLDB bulk mail database I
split the database into 5 containers, 4 for storage and one for the log
file.  Understand that this is still to this point, and likely will remain
just a single table.  Does anyone understand the usage of database files
well enough to tell me whether splitting it into multiple pieces like this
causes performance degradation or enhancement?  I have read that using
different files for different tables can enhance performance, but what about
where it is all just a single table?

In the end I may need to leave it as multiple files since processing such as
adding indexes can temporarily inflate the files by almost double.  When I
am done they shrink back down nicely but during processing they get big.

BTW, as to the actual size of the database (one table, 164 million records,
660 fields, 3000+ bytes / record) - it used 4 files of ~40 gbytes after
shrinking.  I added in the PK (autonumber) and indexed the state code field
and ended up with 2 files of 40g and 2 files of 86g after shrinking.  So the
indexes added a LOT of size to the database.

John W. Colby
www.ColbyConsulting.com