This is the first post in a series of 8 posts about indexes. I hope to introduce you to the different types of indexes, different way to determine index effectiveness and overall hopefully learn something myself.

I have outlined the next few weeks of the topics of my posts:

1. Introduction (this post)
2. What is an Index?
3. Types of Indexes?
4. Structure of an Index
5. Determining what indexes your database has right now!
6. Are current index effective?  What makes effective indexes?
7. Management of Indexes: They are not “set it and forget it!”
8. What I’ve learned

Indexes are vital to SQL Engine efficency. Proper indexes are essential to SQL Engine efficiency. In posts 2-4 I will explain all I know about what an index is supposed to and how to create them.

Incorrect indexes or too many indexes can have a negative affect on performance as well. In posts 5 and 6 I hope to show you how to determined your database index needs to help your queries run as efficient as possible.

In the 7th post, I hope to show you quick and easy ways to manage your indexes, because proper index management is as essential as creating the correct indexes.

and of course, I will wrap the series up with the 8th posts. If I stay true to my word, the 2nd post of this series will be in 2 weeks. I am alternating one post a week with my “Back-2-Basics” series as well.