SQL Diagnostic Manager for SQL Server

Understanding Baselines for SQL Server Performance

What It Is A SQL Server performance baseline is a snapshot of your system under normal load. It helps identify what is considered normal for...

Written By: Brandon Adams
Last Updated: July 30, 2025
2 minutes read

What It Is

A SQL Server performance baseline is a snapshot of your system under normal load. It helps identify what is considered normal for that time of the day or week.

Why It Matters

Detects deviations during incidents or after changes.
Essential for capacity planning and root cause analysis if notable spikes occur outside of the norm, or if performance is lower than expected – possibly indicating that the SQL instance is not being used as much anymore.
Also detects if something is happening outside of what normally happens

How to Spot It

Use performance counters (CPU, I/O, waits, query duration).
Monitor during peak and non-peak periods.
Set baseline thresholds with SQL Diagnostic Manager.

How to Fix or Address It

Document and store key performance indicators regularly.

Key Takeaway

A SQL Server performance baseline is your SQL Server’s “normal.” Without one, troubleshooting is guesswork.

How can Idera Help?

Use SQL Diagnostic Manager to automatically establish and compare SQL Server baselines. For more information on SQL Diagnostic Manager or to start a free trial, visit us HERE.

Brandon Adams

SQL Server Tools Product Marketing Manager

With over two decades of experience in SQL, SaaS, data center infrastructure, power quality, data storage, disaster recovery, and IT security, Brandon bridges technical expertise with business needs to help organizations get the most out of their data environments. He focuses on making complex database and infrastructure challenges easier to understand, enabling DBAs and IT leaders to improve performance, strengthen security, and simplify management.