With search data, statistics, cache tables, and log messages Drupal databases can get pretty big, but a lot of the data is disposable. Search data can be reconstructed, caches can be rebuilt, and old log messages can be ignored.
More often than I'd like I see issues where Drupal's cron fails or exceeds the time limit. Here is a handy Drush command which will run all cron hooks on your site and the time it takes to run.
With search data, statistics, cache tables, and log messages Drupal databases can get pretty big, but a lot of the data is disposable. Search data can be reconstructed, caches can be rebuilt, and old log messages can be ignored.
More often than I'd like I see issues where Drupal's cron fails or exceeds the time limit. Here is a handy Drush command which will run all cron hooks on your site and the time it takes to run.