Mastering SQL Server® 2008

Chapter 14

Indexing Strategies for Query Optimization

SQL Server applications are all about executing queries, so you need to do everything you can to make sure that those queries execute as quickly and efficiently as possible. Because SQL Server is a shared service with multiple users, tuning an application from the perspective of one user is not enough. You must also consider the impact that many users accessing data concurrently will have on performance.

Tuning a SQL Server application is a cost-based approach where you will have to evaluate the aggregate costs of the resources consumed and attempt to mitigate those costs by using optimization techniques including indexing, archiving, and load balancing to name a few. While there are many ...