Optmizing not reducing dB size?

Hi Chris,

It sounds frustrating to see the database size increase unexpectedly after cleaning up user records and optimizing it. Here’s what might be happening:

1. Index Rebuilding: When you optimize a database, especially using tools like WP-Optimize, it often involves rebuilding indexes. This process can sometimes increase the size of the database temporarily because it rebuilds the index structures in a more optimized manner but uses additional space to do so.
2. Database Overhead: After deleting records, the database might still hold onto some “overhead,” which is space reserved for future data. While you’ve deleted records, the space those records occupied may not be immediately released back to the operating system, depending on how your database manages its storage and optimization settings.
3. Fragmentation: If your database was heavily fragmented before the optimization, the process might rearrange how data is stored, which can paradoxically increase the total size due to how data is aligned in the storage.
4. Log Files and Backup Copies: Sometimes, optimization processes increase log file sizes or create backup copies of data during the process, which contributes to an overall increase in size.

It’s also possible that the settings used during the optimization process weren’t entirely suited for reducing the database size but rather aimed at improving performance or stability. Reviewing the specific settings or consulting documentation on the optimization process you followed might provide more insights.

If the size remains a concern, it may be beneficial to look into the specific types of data that are taking up the most space now compared to before, and whether any temporary or redundant data can be cleaned up further.

Hope that helps clarify why you might be seeing this result!

Best Regards,
Mansour M