🔧 SQL Server Indexes Explained: Column Order, INCLUDE, and the Mistakes That Taught Me

Part 3 of the SQL Server Performance Series

Last updated: January 2026

I inherited a table with 47 indexes. Here's what that disaster taught me about column order, INCLUDE columns, and knowing when enough is enough.







TL;DR


Indexes are sorted copies of your columns with pointers back to the full rows. SQL Server reads them left to...