Indexes in SQL Server make  queries run faster and more efficiently.  With the size of databases increasing almost exponentially, being able to return results quickly with minimal stress on the underlying  server is crucial. This tutorial includes a practical demonstration of  performance gains obtained from creating Clustered, Non-Clustered, and Column indexes. In the demonstration clustered and non-clustered indexes result in a 10 x increase in query performance compared to using no index. The Column index results in further  a 10 x increase in performance over the Clustered and Non-clustered indexes (100 x faster than using no index).  The video also outlines the basic concepts behind indexes and demonstrates how to quickly created indexes in SQL Server Management studio.  Code and sample  databases are available below.

Sample Database . WARNING -THIS FILE IS 1.3 GB IN SIZE . Unless you have ultra fast broadband I do not recommend you download it. Download here

T-SQL script to test the performance of the 3 index types – Download here