Brent Ozar explains why he recommended a client break out a small database:
Listen, I can explain. Really.
We had a client with a 5GB database, and they wanted it to be highly available. The data powered their web site, and that site needed to be up and running in short order even if they lost the server – or an entire data center – or a region of servers.
The first challenge: they didn’t want to pay a lot for this
mufflerdatabase. They didn’t have a full time DBA, and they only had licensing for a small SQL Server Standard Edition.
Read on for the full explanation. Given the constraints and expectations, it makes sense, and this is a good example of figuring out how expected future growth can change the bottom line for a DBA.