Maintaining SharePoint's SQL Backend

image Many of Microsoft's enterprise-level applications use SQL Server on the back end to host data, content, etc.  CRM, Operations Manager, Sharepoint... You get the idea.  While many companies have Database Administrators (DBA's) to manage their business-critical databases (perhaps the ones holding customer or sales information), it can be easy to forget to perform regular maintenance on the databases underlying another product.  There's enough to know just to size/deploy/operate SharePoint or Operations Manager! 

Fortunately, Bill Baer has just released an excellent white paper on recommended maintenance strategies for the databases that host content and configuration settings for SharePoint (MOSS and WSS).

Before you implement any database maintenance tasks or modify your SharePoint Products and Technologies databases, read the following MSDN support articles:

1. Support for changes to the databases that are used by Office server products and by Windows SharePoint Services

2. Information about the Maintenance Plan Wizard in SQL Server 2005 and about tasks that administrators can perform against SharePoint databases

With that out of the way, you can dive into the meat of the white paper:

CHECK FOR AND REPAIR CONSISTENCY ERRORS BY USING DBCC CHECKDB
About DBCC CHECKDB
DBCC CHECKDB and performance
MEASURE AND REDUCE FRAGMENTATION
Measure fragmentation in a SQL Server 2005 database (sys.dm_db_index_physical_stats)
Measure fragmentation in a SQL Server 2000 database (DBCC SHOWCONTIG)
Reducing Fragmentation for a Database
Reducing fragmentation for a specific table and its indexes
Using ALTER INDEX
Fine tuning index performance by setting fill factor
Shrinking data files
Shrinking a database by using Transact-SQL commands
Shrinking a database by using SQL Server 2005 Management Studio
CREATING SQL SERVER 2005 MAINTENANCE PLANS
Configure a SQL Server 2005 Database Maintenance Plan

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Download the White Paper here: Database Maintenance for Microsoft® SharePoint® Products and Technologies