tips for optimizing a read-only sql database

Question

I have a mid-sized SQL Server 2008 database that has actuarial data in it. All of the use cases for it are read-only queries. Are there any special optimizations I should cons

Answer 1

For performance tuning there are several things you can do. Denormailzation works. Proper clustered indexes dependent on how the data will be queried. I don't recommend using a nolock hint. I'd use snapshot isolation level.

It's also important on how your database is laid out on the disks. For read only performance, I'd recommend Raid 10, with separate mdf's and ldf's to isolated spindles. Normally, for a production database it would be Raid 5 for data and Raid 1 for logs. Make sure you have a tempdb file for each cpu, used for sorting, a good starting size is 5gb data and 1 gb log for each cpu. Also make sure you run your queries or procs through showplan to help optimize them as well as possible. Ensure that parallelism is on in the server settings.

Also if you have the time and space for optimal performance, I'd map out exactly where the data lives on the disks, creating file groups and putting them on completely separate volumes that are isolated disks in each volume.