The better your SQL Server deployment performs, the more value it will bring to your organization. And as database solutions become more ingrained in modern business operations, you cannot afford to let performance problems go unaddressed.
Anyone who is charged with database administrator (DBA) duties should take performance monitoring seriously, and here are some tips to help you do this efficiently.
Why is SQL Server performance important?
It is safe to assume that your database underpins mission-critical apps and services within your business. If performance is suboptimal, then these solutions will suffer as a result.
The knock-on effect is that employee productivity can suffer, customer satisfaction can plummet and important projects can grind to a halt.
As such, keeping tables on SQL Server performance will let you preemptively fix issues, restore your database to ideal conditions and reduce infrastructure costs, as you can learn from SentryOne.
Monitor performance with tools
Monitoring a modern database is a breeze thanks to modern tools. As well as giving you the means to track all sorts of metrics relating to performance, you can also automate DBA duties by letting the software alert you to inconsistencies and sluggishness that might otherwise go unnoticed.
Optimize with Index Tuning Wizard
In a typical SQL database, indexes are able to speed up the rate with which data is found in large tables. But poorly optimized indexes can be a roadblock rather than a catalyst.
Luckily this is taken into account by the Index Tuning Wizard utility which has been part and parcel of SQL Server for a long time.
It not only provides recommendations about changes you can make to boost performance, but also lets you know whether the changes you are about to make to an index will help or hinder the database.
Tune for memory usage
SQL Server needs enough available memory to process queries quickly and keep the underlying software ticking over effectively.
Monitoring memory usage is sensible, since if this resource is being overstretched then server responsiveness will take a nosedive.
You may find that you need to allocate more memory to the database to cope with periods of peak use, or you might realize that an upgrade is necessary.
Tune for disk usage
The storage resources of your SQL Server ecosystem should also be on your list of monitoring priorities as a DBA.
You need plenty of disk space not only to accommodate all of the information contained within a database, but also to house the TempDB temporary repository while it is in use.
Your monitoring of disk usage is not just about looking for bottlenecks right now, but also about planning when to add more storage in weeks, months or years to come.
Conclusion
The work of a DBA is never done, and your monitoring responsibilities should be a priority if you want to avoid unplanned downtime as well as general performance woes.
Checking for problems and tuning to improve performance will unlock the true power of your database, which is good for you and your business.