Relational database systems have significantly evolved since their inception over 30 years ago. New applications are now more complex than ever and tuning a production system for performance has become a critical yet time-consuming activity. This book shows how to use automated systems for time-efficient database tuning. The author presents a detailed overview of the fundamental research that makes it possible to automatically recommend changes to the physical design of database systems. The book provides a comprehensive overview of the automated tuning tools that can be used to systematically explore the space of alternatives and to guide database administrators.