Database performance isn't something to be managed haphazardly, but instead should be approached in a methodical and organized manner. This is precisely what Performance Lifecycle Management or PLM is designed to provide. This course provides an introduction to PLM and covers the basics areas involved in a successful PLM implementation.

Determining the overall health of a SQL Server system can be confusing task, but it doesn't have to be. Accurately measuring database performance can easily be accomplished once you understand the basic components of performance and how they relate to one another. This course takes a brief look at performance modeling and how it can be applied to any SQL Server installation.

The foundation of SQL Server performance isn't found in SQL tuning or other such tasks. Instead, it's established during the initial physical design and performance testing phases of the PLM cycle. This course shows how to create a winning SQL Server database design and discusses how to perform one of the most neglected activities of performance management, which is proactive testing.

What are the overall goals of a smart SQL Server monitoring plan? Do you know how to accurately use the most important performance analysis methods for SQL Server? This course provides an overview of the building blocks of a solid SQL Server monitoring plan and introduces the key performance analysis methods that every DBA needs to understand and practice.

Bottleneck analysis is the primary performance analysis method DBAs should use in diagnosing and tuning SQL Server response time problems. This course focuses on how to recognize and correct bottlenecks that occur in the storage and overall SQL Server system layers.

If DBAs cannot locate any obvious SQL Server issues at the storage or system layers, the next step is to drill down into session and operating system metrics to determine if any bottlenecks exist in these layers. This course contains information on how to identify and correct bottlenecks with SQL Server processes and the Windows server.

After bottleneck analysis, the next most important performance methodology is workload analysis, which focuses on the overall workload generated by system, session, and SQL activity. This course contains details on how to understand the overall workload on a SQL Server and recognize where improvements can be made

Key performance ratios can quickly help a SQL Server DBA understand how well their overall system is performing. This course provides details on what ratios a DBA needs to monitor, along with recommendations for what to do when key performance metrics are out of line.

Many SQL Server DBAs work in a reactive mode, which means they do little to plan for the future needs of the databases they oversee. This course discusses the importance of historical trend analysis, what key metrics should be tracked, and how to use historical data to forecast future needs.

Many SQL Server DBAs spend time tuning things that make little or no impact in overall performance. This course focuses on what to pay attention to and how to form an overall PLM tuning plan that can be effectively used in large SQL Server installations to dramatically increase performance.