Over time, normal database activity (for example, inserts, updates, and deletes) can affect the organization of data in tables and may adversely affect database performance. This fragmentation can be addressed by rebuilding indexes in the database. Microsoft SQL Server has tasks within the Maintenance Plan Wizard that can be configured and executed in a variety of ways to reduce fragmentation. Rebuild indexes on a weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis to prevent severe levels of fragmentation.
Rebuilding indexes will update index statistics with a 100% sample for every index that is rebuilt.
The recommended Maintenance Plan task to rebuild indexes is the Rebuild Index Task.
When configuring the Rebuild Index Task in SQL Standard Edition , the Keep index online while reindexing option should not be selected. If the option is selected, the maintenance task will fail. This option is available in both the Standard and Enterprise Editions of SQL Server, but it is functional only in the Enterprise Edition.
The Free space option can be left at the default or changed to 10%. For more information, see Index Page Fill Factor.