The Index Tuning Wizard can be started from SQL Server Enterprise Manager by selecting a database, and then clicking Index Tuning Wizard from the list of available wizards in the Management subgroup. Alternatively, it can be started from SQL Server Profiler on the Tools tab of the Profiler menu. After the wizard obtains all the necessary user input on required parameters, it carefully begins searching the space of possible configurations. If the search for the index configurations is terminated during this time, the wizard returns the best available configuration that has been considered thus far.
SQL Server Query Analyzer provides another mode in which the Index Tuning Wizard can be started for a workload consisting of a single Transact-SQL statement only. This is accomplished by selecting one Transact-SQL statement in the query buffer and then selecting Perform index analysis from the options available on the Query tab. In this mode, for all the customization options, the default settings are used and the workload file is assumed to contain only the single query. (The only exception is the Perform Thorough Analysis option, which is selected while starting Index Tuning Wizard from SQL Server Query Analyzer.) Because the Keep all indexes option is the default, all indexes suggested in this mode assume that existing indexes must be retained. Because single query workloads typically are not representative, the Index Tuning Wizard imposes an additional constraint that no changes in the clustering of data will be recommended, whether or not there is a clustered index. Such a restriction discourages clustering data based on index recommendations for a single query. The index recommendations are presented as a Transact-SQL script. You have the option of either accepting or rejecting the recommendations. The Index Tuning Wizard should be used on a representative workload and not on single queries. However, the ability to start the index tuning capability from SQL Server Query Analyzer is useful for tuning an under-performing query in an otherwise well-tuned system.