title: Determining optimal log size in SQL Server 2005
body: <p>I've got a log file on my database whose size is 303 MB and %used is 3.19.</p>
  
  <p>I'm pretty sure the transaction volume is limited to a few tables. The database and log are backed up nightly.</p>
  
  <p>How do I assess my log to determine:</p>
  
  <ul>
  <li>whether I can shrink the allocated space, and thus the log</li>
  <li>how big my log grows daily/weekly?</li>
  </ul>
  
  <p>Do I check the logspace before I run the transaction log and full database backup? </p>
  
  <p>Is there a way to log the log size in a table each night before/after these jobs run?</p>