Learn how to balance data modification against retrieval
The indexes that work best for data retrieval aren't always the best ones for data modification. To know which indexes are the best for data-modification operations, you need to know how SQL Server uses indexes during those operations. Last month, I told you how SQL Server uses indexes and how INSERT operations affect those indexes, and I gave some basic recommendations for indexing tables with heavy insert activity. Now let's look at the indexing effects and recommendations for the two other data-modification operations, DELETE and UPDATE.
One...