SQL Server Best Practices

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Technical White Papers

Deep level technical papers on specific SQL Server topics that were tested and validated by SQL Development.

• XML Best Practices for Microsoft SQL Server 2005
• Performance Optimizations for the XML Data Type in SQL Server 2005
• SQL Server 2005 Security Best Practices - Operational and Administrative Tasks
• SQL Server 2005 Full-Text Queries on Large Catalogs: Lessons Learned
• Scale-Out Querying with Analysis Services
• SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services Processing Best Practices
• Predeployment I/O Best Practices
• Partial Database Availability
• Comparing Tables Organized with Clustered Indexes versus Heaps
• SQL Server 2005 Deployment Guidance for Web Hosting Environments
• Resolving Common Connectivity Issues in SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services Connectivity Scenarios
• Implementing Application Failover with Database Mirroring
• OLAP Design Best Practices for Analysis Services 2005
• DBCC SHOWCONTIG Improvements and Comparison between SQL Server 2000 and SQL Server 2005
• TEMPDB Capacity Planning and Concurrency Considerations for Index Create and Rebuild
• Loading Bulk Data into a Partitioned Table
• Database Mirroring Best Practices and Performance Considerations
• SQL Server 2005 Performance Tuning using Waits and Queues
• Analysis Services 2005 Performance Guide
• SAP with Microsoft SQL Server 2005: Best Practices for High Availability, Performance, and Scalability
• Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Tuning Tips for PeopleSoft 8.x
• Troubleshooting Performance Problems in SQL Server 2005

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SQL Server Best Practices Toolbox

• Scripts and Tools for Performance Tuning and Troubleshooting SQL Server 2005
  • Buffer Cache
  • CPU and Optimization
  • Indexes and Indexing
  • Input/Output
  • Performance
  • Query Plan Re-Use
  • Retrieving SQL Text and XML Plans
  • SQLOS: Schedulers, Runnable Queue, Waiter List
  • Tempdb
  • Transactions and Locking
  • Wait Statistics
• SQL Server 2005 Best Practices Analyzer
• DMV Stats

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Top 10 Lists

Summary lists (usually consisting of 10 items) of recommendations, best practices and common issues for specific customer scenarios by the SQL Server Customer Advisory Team.

• Analysis Services Query Performance Top 10 Best Practices
• Top 10 Best Practices for SQL Server Maintenance for SAP
• Top 10 Hidden Gems in SQL Server 2005
• Top 10 SQL Server 2005 Performance Issues for Data Warehouse and Reporting Applications
• OLTP Top 6 Performance Issues for OLTP Applications
• Storage Top 10 Best Practices

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Best Practices in SQL Server Books Online

• Best Practices for Replication Administration
• Replication Security Best Practices
• Best Practices for Recovering a Database to a Specific Recovery Point

Source: SQL Server Best Practices