I’m a data geek 🤓 In fact, I like data so much that I have made it my career! I work with Azure Data and the Microsoft Data Platform, focusing on Data Integration using Azure Data Factory (ADF), Azure Synapse Analytics, and SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS).
In this category, I write technical posts and guides, and share my experiences with certification exams. You can also find a few interviews with Azure and SQL Server experts!
Azure Data posts may cover topics like Azure Data Factory, Azure Synapse Analytics, Azure SQL Databases, and Azure Data Lake Storage. Microsoft Data Platform posts may cover topics like SQL Server, T-SQL, and SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS), and SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS).
There are many benefits of partitioning large tables. You can speed up loading and archiving of data, you can perform maintenance operations on individual partitions instead of the whole table, and you may be able to improve query performance. However, implementing table partitioning is not a trivial task and you need a good understanding of how it works to implement and use it correctly.
Being a business intelligence and data warehouse developer, not a DBA, it took me a while to understand table partitioning. I had to read a lot, get plenty of hands-on experience and make some mistakes along the way. (The illustration to the left is my Table Partitioning Cheat Sheet.) This post covers the basics of partitioned tables, partition columns, partition functions and partition schemes.
In 2015, I decided that I will not try to take a Microsoft Online Exam again (until they fix or change their exam software). In 2021, I still stand by my decision. Here’s why.