Sybase ASE 15 – Semantic Partitions to the Rescue

By Peter Dobler, Dobler Consulting
Data explosion and the always present request for faster data retrieval led to the introduction of more granular data distribution on physical disks. Even with faster disks, the increase in parallel processing created more contention on a single table.

The solution to these database challenges was to split a single table into multiple partitions that could be accessed independently and still maintain the data integrity of a single table. A second solution was the introduction of row level locking to drastically reduce data insert contention.

Still, more data distribution challenges call for other solutions. Partitions were slowly introduced with Sybase ASE 11 to reduce contention and support parallel processing. However, it was not until ASE 15 that partitions jumped back into the spotlight.

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