SharePoint databases file location

Typically, for performance, backup and various other reasons, you'll want that the SharePoint databases are not stored in the default locations. Unfortunately, the Central Administration does not allow you to specify the actual file locations to use when it creates the databases.

So to be able to specify different locations for the mdf / lsf files, you'll need to create the databases manually beforehand and then when the creating the Configuration database, creating web application (or other) databases, specify the location / name of the database created.

If you've already created your databases, a simple way to shift them to the correct locations is to stop the SharePoint services, detach the database, move the files to the correct locations, and then re-attach the databases. The restart the SharePoint services. As long as the name of the database doesn't change, SharePoint won't notice that the actual file locations have changed.

The only database for which I couldn't create the database beforehand is the AdminConfig database. Please comment if you know at which point during the setup this database is created, and whether one can create this database beforehand, and point to it.