Out of the box, the default settings in SCOM 2012 R2 will work for most environments. In very large environments, however, certain optimization changes could be made to the SCOM configuration to augment any benefits that stem from a good, and "well-thought-out design." Review Chapter 1, Architecting System Center 2012 R2 Operations Manager of this title for best-practice guidelines on architecting and designing SCOM 2012 R2. Note the emphasis on good design. While the design of your SCOM environment is not the be-all and end-all of performance optimization, it is the foundation upon which you will build out your SCOM infrastructure, and as such, it must be formidable. In designing your SCOM infrastructure, make sure to incorporate best-practice recommendations for high availability and database hardware into your design. Poorly configured SCOM databases can hamper performance over time, and in larger environments, performance issues will become noticeable...