Introduction Microsoft SQL Server has for many years attempted to auto-manage a lot of the administrative and performance characteristics of its database engine. Although some may disagree, SQL Server’s ease-of-use accolades in the areas of setup and basic administration are well deserved, but what about automatic performance management? Does SQL Server competently handle performance in a way that requires no DBA tuning or intervention? Perhaps a coy way to answer this question is by the following observation: If you visit one of the more popular SQL Server forums on the Internet (SQL Server Magazine’s), you will find over 2,000 posts in the performance question category of the site – more posts than in any category other than general administration. So the answer to the previous question is another question: if SQL Server performance analysis has been made obsolete by self-managed performance, then why so many questions on the topic?