SQLWebpedia

Typically, Systems Engineering group or another IT group will setup your server for you. If you are a one man team in this affair, I will assume you have installed Windows 2003 standard or enterprise edition and have it running with minimal services.

SQL Server settings can be tempting to use, but should be used with much caution; do research and test if it actually does improve performance in your case. I often limit the amount of memory sql server has available to it when I am using over 8GB of RAM. For these situations, I limit RAM to Total RAM - 2GB for the OS to use. e.g. 16GB of Total RAM I set to 14GB of Max RAM.

Microsoft Add-ons and Tools

• Feature Pack for SQL Server for most all the add-ons for development and DBA usage all on one page. http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=50b97994-8453-4998-8226-fa42ec403d17&displaylang=en
• Best practices analyzer to run after installation and anytime you want to check your server for changes that may have occurred over time. http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=da0531e4-e94c-4991-82fa-f0e3fbd05e63&displaylang=en
• SQL Server 2005 SP2 Performance dashboards - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=1d3a4a0d-7e0c-4730-8204-e419218c1efc&displaylang=en
• Enhanced SQL Dashboard by Gregory A. Larsen very excellent additions http://www.sqlserverexamples.com/v2/Products/tabid/76/Default.aspx

External Articles

• SQL Server Backup and Recovery Articles from TechTarget
• SQL Server Best Practices from SSW - Including both Development and DBA tips.
• Identifying Common Administrative Setup Issues in SQL 2000