SQL Server performance optimization is not a simple topic, and index design plays a pivotal role in it, determining the efficiency of database queries.
One key aspect that often influences performance is the order of columns in an index.
In this guide, I’ll use my real-world experience from our consulting jobs to examine the thinking process behind selecting the best column sequence for an index, the logic behind the decisions, and offer some practical insights for optimal database performance.
Read on to learn more about indexing strategy. And this is probably a good time to remind people that the missing index DMV’s column order has as its sole basis the column’s ordinal value. You can, and often will, do better than the missing index DMV recommendation by going through Eitan’s exercise.