SQL Server Express Database - Best way to store test data

[Spg1]

So I have a question about storing data in SQL Server Express Database and I am not sure where or who to ask. I talked to my IT guy at work and asked who our database guy is so I could ask questions and he replied we currently do not have one. So I am here to ask the masses and see what happens.

I currently save test data to a csv file with a time/date stamp to identify each file. Each file is about 5 to 10 minutes worth of data at 1 sample a second, so 300 to 600 rows of data with probably 20-25 columns of different values. And anywhere from 40 to 80 different files can be recorded each day. I am being asked to put past data and future data into a database so it will be easier to analyze. So far I have taught myself enough to import summary files that are created for each record and that has gone fairly smooth because each record is a single row of data.

I was thinking a table per file would be a great way to keep each file contained and separate. But I imagine with that many tables it would be a nightmare pretty quickly. In a perfect world I would like each file on its own row where I could sort by the start time/date. I am trying not to ramble on, so ask any questions to clarify things.

So what are some of the ways to store the data and still be able to determine which data belongs to each file in a database?

 

[KB]

I would create two tables. One has one row per test and the other houses one row per datapoint of the test data, linked to the test table by a foreign key relationship.

TABLE 1: Tests
TestID int PRIMARY KEY IDENTITY NOT NULL
TestStartDate smalldatetime


TABLE 2: TestData
DataID int PRIMARY KEY IDENTITY NOT NULL
TestFK int (FORIEGN KEY linked to TestID in Tests table)
Second int
Column1 <datatype>
....
Column 25

 

[Spg1]

Thanks for the help. I will give it a try and see if I can get it to work.