Chapter 1: Optimizing the Performance of Databases and Database Servers

Microsoft Exam Objectives Covered in this Chapter:

• Troubleshoot physical server performance.

• Troubleshoot instance performance.

• Troubleshoot database performance.

One of the core responsibilities of a database administrator (DBA) is to optimize the performance of your database servers and databases. Database solutions are invariably running mission-critical systems for organizations, and it is important to quickly troubleshoot and correct any performance problems, be they at the physical server, instance, or database level.

Anyone who is not a DBA probably is not aware of the knowledge required or the potential complexity of such a task. A client/server architecture just has so much going on. That’s why it is important to develop some sort of structured approach to troubleshooting potential performance problems.

In this chapter, we’ll start off with a look at the need for a structured approach for troubleshooting SQL Server 2005 performance and the range of tools available with SQL Server 2005, because this will form the basis of this book. We will then concentrate on troubleshooting performance at the physical server, instance, and database level.