SQL Optima guide
SQL Server Installation Checklist
Production installation checklist from architecture planning through TempDB, memory, MAXDOP, backups, and validation.
Build every production instance against a repeatable install checklist — not memory from the last engagement.
Open interactive Installation Checklist
Coverage map
- Pre-installation architecture planning
- Windows Server preparation & configuration
- Storage design and formatting
- Service accounts & permissions
- SQL Server setup, features, instance & engine config
- Data directories, post-install, memory, MAXDOP, CTFP
- TempDB, Instant File Initialization, file & log layout
- Recovery model, backups, compression, maintenance
- SQL Agent, security hardening, network, Database Mail, alerts
- Query Store, monitoring baseline, page file, final validation
- VM-specific optimization and post-migration slow-server debugging
Non-negotiable post-setup checks
-- Confirm memory / parallelism starting points
EXEC sp_configure 'show advanced options', 1;
RECONFIGURE;
EXEC sp_configure 'max server memory (MB)';
EXEC sp_configure 'max degree of parallelism';
EXEC sp_configure 'cost threshold for parallelism';
-- TempDB file count and equal sizing
SELECT file_id, type_desc, name, size * 8 / 1024 AS size_mb,
growth, is_percent_growth, physical_name
FROM tempdb.sys.database_files;