DOS AND DON'TS WITH SQL SERVER v7.0 There are a few things to remember about SQL Server and how it is best deployed. The following will outline a few of the most notable things you should or should not do if at all possible. DO: * Place the NT Pagefile.sys on a different drive away from SQL Server executables and databases. * Make the SQL Server a dedicated server by not including other services like primary or backup domain controllers, DHCP, print servers, etc. * Allocate development separately from production servers. Keeping production isolated from development or QA will help stabilize your application. * Use New Technology File Systems (NTFS) rather than FAT for security and robustness. * Statically assign your IP address for the server. * Bind your most used protocol highest on the network. * Analyze your application and pay particular attention to distributing the I/O. DO NOT: * Run any unneeded network protocols. * Use the priority boost option for SQL Server unless the server is dedicated to SQL and is an SMP machine. * Run your production server with diskperf set to On. * Place your database(s) on a system drive. For recovery reasons, it is preferable that any SQL executable not be placed on this drive. The above are just some of the items you should consider when deploying your SQL Server. Remember, deploying SQL Server is more art than exact science as each environment and requirement is different. ------------------------------------------