Partitioning of databases
Updated at: 24 January 2025
Partitioning, or sectioning, a database - dividing the data stored in a database into parts.
Partitioning allows horizontal scaling, as vertical scaling has a ceiling - you cannot add memory to one server indefinitely. With partitioning, on the other hand, data can be stored on different servers, and servers can be added as needed. Availability and performance are improved because queries are not accessing a huge chunk of data, but smaller and lighter weight pieces.
Highlights:
- horizontal partitioning - the data table is divided into rows;
¨NBSP;
- vertical partitioning - the data table is divided into columns;
- functional partitioning - data is grouped according to the context of its use in the system.
