Partition woes

  • I have a partition that has... exceeded it's time line. The last file was created in May of 2015. I have a lot of data sitting in that final file.

    I understand I have a few options. I can just act like that final file is the old world and start anew, I can try and move all that data around and flatten it back out, or I can sit here and weep silently.

    I'm new to partitions. I didn't create this one even, but I understand what it's doing. It's built on a range right and done by date. The extra file that's normally at the end is large. These are wide tables, 180 ish columns. The normal month holds around 5 million records. The current final file has 45 million records.

    I will say that right now everything works and we're not having a problem, but I'd like to get this cleaned up sooner than later.

    I have the new files created. My biggest question is which option is the best/safest (from your perspective) and some advice on how to tackle this beast. I'm guessing the fastest way would be to do a 2016, new file new year idea.

    Thanks in advance!

    .

  • I'd say the first thing to do is look for a proc or a job that does a monthly handling of the partitioning of the table. The person that created the partitions might have built one an it might be looking for.

    --Jeff Moden


    RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
    First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
    ________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

    Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.


    Helpful Links:
    How to post code problems
    How to Post Performance Problems
    Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

  • There is no job that handles the monthly partitioning currently. I'm planning on working on that after I sort the partitions out.

    .

  • In that case, I'd first make a backup of the database, switch out the large partition, and hammer one partition of data back into place at a time using CREATE TABLE, INSERT, and SWITCH "in", etc. It'll take a little planning on your part but you'll learn a hell of a lot about partitioning in the process.

    --Jeff Moden


    RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
    First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
    ________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

    Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.


    Helpful Links:
    How to post code problems
    How to Post Performance Problems
    Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

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