Sharding vs. Partitioning: When to Use Each
Understand the real difference between database partitioning and sharding, and be able to decide when a system has actually outgrown partitioning and needs sharding.
3 sections ยท 9 lessons
Course outline
What Partitioning Actually Is
- How partitioning splits a table within a single database instance
- Time-based partitioning and why DROP PARTITION beats DELETE
- When a single instance is still enough
What Sharding Actually Is
- How sharding distributes data across separate machines
- Shard keys and query routing, using Vitess as a real example
- Why sharding solves a different problem than partitioning
Making the Decision
- Signs partitioning is still the right call
- Signs you've actually outgrown a single machine
- A decision framework: capacity first, distribution second