The database tuning process is based on performance observations gathered during normal SQL Server operations, typically at the time of peak work cycles. Symptoms indicating that possible database tuning may be necessary usually consist of excessive disk I/O and/or excessive cache flushes. Both of these symptoms have been addressed earlier with respect to memory and disk I/O tuning. However, assuming that these SQL Server resources have been sufficiently tuned, it is now time to examine the database design and the mapping of the physical database to physical disk devices.