Mastering Index Tuning

You need to speed up a SQL Server app, but you only want to make index changes. You don’t want to buy hardware, change SQL Server, or change the code. Good news – I’ll teach you how in 3 days of learning and fun. Join me, Brent Ozar, as I explain how to make your SQL Server apps go faster just by tuning the indexes.

Labs & lectures include:

How to deduplicate & prune an existing database with too many indexes
How to use sp_BlitzIndex to design the right nonclustered indexes for specific queries
How to assess a large workload and prioritize which tables/indexes to work on first
How to convert badly-performing recommended indexes into blazing-fast hand-tuned indexes
How to know when filtered indexes, indexed views, and indexed computed columns will pay off
How to measure whether your index changes made things better, or worse

Your Progress So Far in This Class

This is driven by the mark-as-complete buttons in each module of the class. (Let’s be honest: you’re probably just going to mark them as complete because you’re that kind of student. I feel you.)

[wpc_progress_graph course=”Mastering Index Tuning”]

Recent Updates & Changes

2026-05-17:

DEATH Method, A Steps – rewrote this module from scratch based on how I approach it in SQL Server 2019 & newer. I also re-recorded the lab setup & lab solution videos based on how I do it these days, and showed how AI doesn’t quite cut it yet.
Reordered some sessions for a better learning progression.

2025-11-21:

Using an Index’s Second Column with Skip Scans – added this new module.

2025-11-15:

Starting with the D.E. – re-recorded with updated guidance about my new 10 & 5 guideline, and more thoughts about when it’s okay to have more indexes per table.
Blocking – added a new video to demo SQL Server 2025’s new Optimized Locking.

2025-11-11:

Indexing for JSON Queries – added this new module explaining SQL Server 2025’s new JSON indexes. sp_BlitzIndex only has preliminary support for these indexes right now, and I’ll re-record this module once I’ve got full support coded in there.

Introductions and Setting Up Lab 1

Click on the modules on the right side of the page to keep moving through the class.