How to Deal with MSSQL Database Design? (Practical Tips)
Whether you opted for some of the most popular database management systems (DBMS) or you decided to go with an open-source solution, a DBMS is a must in this day and age. The move from legacy databases and RDBMSs into the cloud and flexibility with combining NoSQL databases also provides tremendous advantages as well. No matter what industry you’re in, databases are increasingly critical to your business success.
We’ll look at MSSQL database design and we’ll provide steps on how to lay solid foundations for an optimized performance. Usually this should be done by SQL developers and software designers but these days a lot of tasks are often merged. DBAs are more in charge as this can be part of performance tuning also although generally DBAs do not
normalize the data nor
create indexes. A quick mention of these two before we dive into database design:
Database normalization involves restructuring a relational database in accordance with a series of so-called normal forms in order to reduce data redundancy and improve data integrity. Database Normalization is a process and it should be carried out for every database you design.
Indexes are crucial to good database and application performance. Badly designed indexes and a lack of them are primary sources of poor SQL Server performance.
An index is a copy of information from a table that speeds up retrieval of rows from the table or view. Two main characteristics of an index are they are smaller than a table ( enabling SQL Server to search the index more quickly) and
are presorted (speeding up search.)
Now onto MSSQL Database Design:
Why is it important to create a Good Database design?
Being a fundamental part of your applications, databases are quickly turning into complex environments. A clear business logic from the start ensures smooth work between your database and applications. Making design and architecture decisions based on actual findings and best practices will lower technical debt and the number of fixes to implement in the future.
Tip 1: Use Database Normalization
To make sure data integrity and consistency is guaranteed, use the database normalization method. The approach streamlines data by reducing its redundancy and ensuring that data dependencies are logical. The process aims to reduce the space a database uses and ensure that data is efficiently organized.
Tip 2: Optimize Data Types
It’s well worth exploring the multiple SQL Server data types available. Making the right choice will save you hours of programming. To make sure you’re getting the most of it, choose the smallest data types and remove any supported ones and update those will guarantee smoother development.
Tip 3: Optimize Column Names
Make sure columns are clearly defined for ‘insert’ statements and there are no duplicate names for columns with different data types.
Tip 4: Define Primary Keys
Defining primary keys highly depends on the applications you run and your personal preference. Choosing integer columns would be beneficial for generating values, using uniqueidentifier columns as primary keys is a good option for distributed applications, or you can select to use unique natural keys if you need to combine a few columns.
Tip 5: Determine Clustered Index
A logical clustering of your columns will guarantee that your queries will run faster and require less resources.While defining clustered keys is ideal for grouping, sorting and range queries, pay close attention to its size. The bigger the clustered index, it will consume more storage.
Wrap Up
Designing your new database is key to achieving an optimized performance. It’s well worth the effort to invest in exploring best practices and understand what would work best for you. Choosing to work with
expert database developers who have a solid development experience and sound knowledge of best practices guarantees optimal results.
