INFO: New NO_INDEX Option for SQL Server for Windows NT

MORE INFORMATION

The syntax for the NO_INDEX option is as follows: When the NO_INDEX option is used, only the data portion of user-defined tables is checked for consistency. Indexes are ignored. System tables, however, continue to be checked in their entirety.

Using this option can lead to a substantial reduction in the time that it takes to run the DBCC commands against very large databases. In some cases this time can be so prohibitive as to prevent these consistency checks being run on a regular basis.

In a production environment, the NO_INDEX option is provided to counter such situations. Not checking indexes is relatively safe since problems in index structures can usually be corrected by dropping and recreating the index.

If this option is used, it is still highly recommended that a full CHECKDB and CHECKALLOC be run, whenever possible, to detect any problems in the index structures.