SQL Interview: 85 Instant file initalization (IFI)

SQL Interview: 85 Instant file initalization (IFI)

This is a post in the SQL Interview series. These aren’t trick or gotcha questions, they’re just questions designed to scope out a candidate’s knowledge around SQL Server and Azure SQL Database.

Section: Administration Level: Medium

Question:

You are managing a SQL Server 2022 server and have enabled Instant File Initialization (IFI).

Which files will this apply to?

  • Data (MDF and NDF) files only
  • Transaction log files only
  • Both data and transaction log files

Answer:

While earlier versions only supported IFI for data files, SQL Server 2022 introduced support for both data and transaction log files.

2025-10-11