Best Practices

Always change the Page_Verify Database Option to Checksum after you migrate it to SQL Server 2005 or higher. Checksum is

Make sure Auto_Shrink is disabled for all Databases on your Production Servers.

Keep your TempDB Files & all other database files on separate disks.

Disable “xp_cmdshell” where it is not required. If this is required for some admin tasks make sure you disable this

set start-up mode of Standalone SQL Services to start automatically.

Don’t keep the System Database files & Windows installation on same disk.

When choosing service accounts, consider the principle of least privilege.

Don’t forget to backup System Databases (Master, Model and Msdb) while configuring Backups for your SQL Server Instance.

Always keep Data and Log files on separate Physical Disk.

Avoid using SELECT * FROM <Table_Name>, try to use only the required Columns & Rows – if possible.