Dynamic Management Views

Dynamic Management Views (DMVs) allow you to inspect SQL Server internals. These views exist in the SYS schema. Here are some examples of these views:

• sys.objects
• sys.tables
• sys.queries
• sys.indexes

The DMVs can help identify performance characteristics. For example, dm_db_index_uage_stats tells you how many seeks and scans a user did. Another useful view is dm_db_missing_index_details. This will tell you an index that does not exist, but would help with perf.