-- Blocking chains SELECT session_id, blocking_session_id, wait_type, wait_time FROM sys.dm_exec_requests WHERE blocking_session_id > 0;
✅ Use x64, Enterprise if possible ✅ Separate disks for data/log/tempdb/backup ✅ Set MAXDOP and max memory correctly ✅ TempDB: 1 file per core (up to 8), equal size ✅ Enable backup compression and CHECKSUM ✅ Deploy AlwaysOn AG (Enterprise) or Log Shipping (Standard) ✅ Apply SP4 + CU9 (last security update) ✅ Plan migration immediately – support ended 2017 sql server 2012 r2