The SQL Server 6.5 Performance Optimization and Tuning Handbook

The SQL Server 6.5 Performance Optimization and Tuning Handbook takes a detailed look at the factors that influence database performance, beginning with good physical design. The internal storage structures are covered next, because an understanding of these is essential to performance tuning. The critical subject of indexes is then discussed, followed by the query optimizer, which is perhaps the most crucial SQL Server performance topic. Making mistakes in these areas can mean the difference between a query taking seconds or literally hours.


SQL Server is highly integrated with Windows NT and so it is crucial that it and Windows NT are both optimized to work together. The book covers the extent of this integration, how to detect CPU, memory and disk bottlenecks and how to overcome them. In a multi-user system, the biggest performance headache is probably locking and this subject is discussed in detail with many example scenarios. Once an efficient physical design has been obtained it is necessary to monitor performance, and a chapter is devoted to the performance monitoring tools available with SQL Server. Finally, a performance, tuning and optimization checklist is provided as an aid for the database administrator.