Database Engine Tuning Advisor

You should be using the Database Tuning Advisor, or DBTA, to help you evaluate your system's performance and even your database design. But are you aware that this system needs a little maintenance?

The DBTA stores its "sessions" in the msdb system database. Make sure you include this database in your maintenance window, so that you retain this valuable information.

For more information on system tuning, make sure you check out this book preview from SQL Server 2005 Programming.