Free resource

Database Health Checklist

30 actionable items across 6 categories. Know exactly where your SQL Server database stands — before it tells you at 2am.

💾
Backup & Recovery
5 items
  • Backups run successfully in last 24 hrs (full/diff/log)
  • Backups stored off-server or in cloud
  • Backup strategy tested — restore executed in last 6 months
  • Automated alerts configured for failed backups
  • Backup status view available across all databases
🔧
Table / Index / Stats Maintenance
5 items
  • Indexes rebuilt or reorganized weekly
  • Statistics updated weekly or after large data changes
  • Fragmentation monitored on large and critical tables
  • Maintenance jobs documented and scheduled
  • Index fragmentation report available on demand
💿
Storage & Logfile Health
5 items
  • LDF (transaction log) file management in place
  • Log backups run frequently (for full recovery model DBs)
  • Disk space >15% free on all database drives
  • Autogrowth settings optimized (fixed size, not percentage)
  • Top 5 largest data and log files identified
🚨
Chronic Errors & Alerts
5 items
  • No recurring errors in SQL Server error logs
  • SQL Agent job failures are monitored and alerted
  • Blocking and deadlocks under control (<5 per day)
  • Ability to view last 100 errors from logs on demand
  • Alerts configured for Severity 19+ and unusual error patterns
⚡
Performance Baseline & Bottlenecks
5 items
  • Slowest queries identified and reviewed regularly
  • Longest-running SQL Agent jobs optimized or parallelized
  • Wait stats monitored on a weekly basis
  • Query plans reviewed for top resource-consuming queries
  • Top 10 CPU-consuming queries identified and known
🗄️
Archiving & Data Retention
5 items
  • Large tables partitioned or purged on a regular schedule
  • Archive strategy documented and in place
  • TempDB not ballooning with stale or unused data
  • Tables over 10GB with no recent activity identified
  • Retention policies enforced via scheduled jobs (auto-purge old data)

Get the Full Checklist as a PDF

Download a clean, printable PDF with all 30 checklist items — ready to share with your team or run against any SQL Server environment.

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