Indexing Overview

Indexing Overview Report – Database Health Monitor

The Indexing Overview Report in Database Health Monitor provides a high-level summary of index-related issues within a SQL Server database. It helps database administrators identify potential performance problems related to indexing, such as duplicate indexes, missing indexes, large clustered indexes, and worthless indexes.

This report is particularly useful for index tuning, helping DBAs optimize performance by removing redundant indexes and identifying indexing gaps.

Understanding the Sections of the Indexing Overview Report

1. Duplicate Indexes

  • Displays indexes that are identical or nearly identical in structure and function.
  • Having duplicate indexes wastes storage and increases maintenance overhead without providing any benefit.
  • If duplicate indexes exist, consider removing unnecessary ones to free up space and improve performance.

👉 Clicking on this section provides a detailed list of duplicate indexes.

2. Worthless Indexes

  • Lists indexes that are rarely or never used based on SQL Server’s index usage statistics.
  • These indexes may have been created for specific queries but are not contributing to performance.
  • Consider removing or restructuring these indexes to reduce maintenance overhead.

👉 Clicking on this section provides insights into underutilized indexes.

3. Other Indexing Reports

  • Provides links to additional reports that analyze different aspects of indexing, including:
    • Big Clustered Indexes – Identifies large clustered indexes that could impact performance.
    • Missing Indexes – Highlights indexes that SQL Server suggests could improve query performance.
    • Most Used Indexes – Shows which indexes are being used the most.
    • LOB Columns – Displays indexes that contain Large Object (LOB) columns, which may affect performance.

👉 Clicking on these reports helps fine-tune indexing strategies based on usage patterns.

How to Use This Report for Index Optimization

  1. Review duplicate indexes and drop unnecessary ones.
  2. Analyze worthless indexes and consider removing or consolidating them.
  3. Check missing indexes and create the ones that can improve query performance.
  4. Monitor large clustered indexes that could be slowing down queries and consider reorganizing them.

By regularly reviewing the Indexing Overview Report, DBAs can ensure optimal index performance, reduce unnecessary overhead, and improve query execution times.

Need More Help?

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