Partitioning Tables and Indexing Them --- Article

(c) Hemant K Chitale

http://hemantoracledba.blogspot.com

Partitioning Tables and Indexing Them
Hemant K Chitale
Standard Chartered Bank

Introduction
Twenty years ago, databases were not very large; they did not support very many users.
Backup (and Recovery) requirements were simple. However, Oracle recognized the advent
of large datasets and introduced the VLDB (“Very Large Database”) terminology in the
Oracle8 documentation. Oracle Partitioning was made available as an optional feature to
facilitate handling of large tables.
This paper is an *Introduction* to Partitioning. Complex Partitioning types and advanced
commands in Partition maintenance are not in the scope.
Examples of much of the material in this paper are published in the Appendix pages.
Pre – Oracle8 (and for those without the Partitioning Option installed)
Prior to Version 8, “home-grown” partitioning implementations by DBAs and Consultants
were based on UNION-ALL Views on physically separate tables. Even now, if you do not
purchase the Partitioning Option with the Enterprise Edition, you have to build multiple
tables and “join” them together with views. Such partitioning is not transparent --- DML like
INSERT, UPDATE and DELETE must explicitly specify the base table being manipulated,
although queries can be executed across all the tables using the view.
In V7.3 you could also define Partition Views with explicit Check Constraints to identify the
base table. [See the References in the Appendix]

Elements of Table Partitioning
A Table is Partitioned into separate “pieces” on the basis of the values stored in one or more
columns, known as the “Partition Key”. The Partition Key unambiguously specifies which
“piece” or Partition a row will be stored in (you can specify MAXVALUE and DEFAULT
Partitions for “undefined” values in Range and List partitioning). Each Partition within the
table is a separate Object and a separate Segment. (Similarly, if you extend Partitions into
SubPartitions in Composite Partitioning, each SubPartition also is distinct from the “parent”
Partition and Table).
Each Partition (and SubPartition) of a Table has the same logical attributes (Column Names,
DataTypes, Scale and Precision). Constraints defined for the Table apply to all Partitions.
However, Partitions can have distinct physical attributes (Tablespace for Storage, Extent
Sizes, Compression). Note: If you create SubPartitions, then no Partition Segments are
created because the physical storage is now in the SubPartitions.
[See the References in the Appendix]

Common Types of Partitioning



Although 11g has introduced some more “complex” partitioning definitions, the most
common ones still are:
o Range Partitioning (introduce in V8 and still the most popular)
o Hash Partitioning (introduced in 8i but much less used than Range and List)
o List Partitioning (introduced in 9i)
o Composite (Range-Hash) (Range-List) (List-Range) (List-Hash) etc Partitioning
11g has expanded the list of combinations for Composite Partitioning and added these
complex definitions:
o Virtual Column Partitioning
o Reference Partitioning
o Interval Partitioning (as an extension to Range Partitioning)
Here, I shall be touching on only the simpler Partitioning methods as an introduction to
Partitioning.
Range Partitioning
In Range Partitioning, each Partition is defined by an upper bound for the values in the
Partition Key column(s). Thus, data is mapped to a Partition based on the values in the
Partition Key columns(s) vis-à-vis the boundary values for the Partition Keys. Each Partition
is thus allowed a range of values from the value after the upper bound of the previous
partition up to the upper bound of the same partition. Typically Range Partitioning is used
against DATE columns (and Partitioning by Date has been the most popular method).
However, when you need to Partition on multiple columns as a Partition Key (e.g. just as a
Primary Key can be a composite of multiple columns), you may need to consider Range
Partitioning as well.
Multiple columns can be concatenated together to act as the Partition Key. In such a case,
Oracle matches the value of each incoming row in the order of the columns. If an incoming
row matches the first Key column, Oracle checks the second Key column and so on.
[See the example in the Appendix]
Hash Partitioning
In Hash Partitioning, you are only allowed to specify the Partition Key and the number of
Partitions (i.e. you do not define the values to be used for partitioning). Hash Partitioning is
used when you need to partition the table into smaller “pieces” but cannot identify how the
rows are to be distributed across the Partitions. Oracle applies a Hashing algorithm to the
values in the Partition Key in an attempt to distribute rows across the defined Partitions. This
means that the Partition Key should have a large distribution of values. Ideally, you would
define the number of Partitions to be a power of 2 – i.e. 2^N.
[See the examples in the Appendix]
List Partitioning
List Partitioning is useful where you have a well-defined list of possible values for the
Partition Key. Every row in a Partition will then have the same value for the Partition Key.
Note that List Partitioning, unlike Range Partitioning, is restricted to a single column. 11g
now allows composite List-List Partitioning where the SubPartitions can be based on a list of
secondary column values.



Choosing the Partitioning Method
Why would you need to / want to partition a table? What is the nature of the data in the
table? The answers to these questions should drive your selection. Here are some pointers:
1. Range Partitioning by a DATE column allows you to archive out older records simply
by exporting the oldest partition and then truncating (or dropping) it.
2. Similarly, Date Ranged Partitions containing “old” data can be set to Read Only and
backed up less frequently (by creating them in separate Tablespaces and, on expiry of
the desired period – e.g. 3 years – setting the Tablespaces to Read Only).
3. If you periodically load “new” data (by date) and purge “old” data, Date Range
Partitioning makes sense.
4. If you simply need to randomly distribute data across multiple “pieces” (each
Partition could be in a separate Tablespace on a separate set of disks as well), without
relation to a business or logical view, you may consider using Hash Partitioning.
Note that Range-Scan queries on the Partition Key will not perform – all queries must
be based on Equality Predicates.
5. List Partitioning works for a small, discrete and “static” list of possible values for the
Partitioning Key. There may be a few changes where you might occasionally add a
new Partition because a new value for the Partition Key is expected to be inserted into
the table.
Examples
Let’s look at some examples:
A. Sales data is loaded into a SALES_FACT table and needs to be retained for only 3
years. Data is loaded daily or weekly. The table can be Date Range Partitioned by
Month with a new Partition created each month (a new Partitions at the upper-end is
“added” by executing a SPLIT PARTITION against the MAXVALUE Partition).
B. Historical data of transactions needs to be preserved for 7 years. However, data once
inserted will not be updated. Data older than 1 year will be very rarely referenced.
The data can be stored in a Date Range Partitioned table whereby data is maintained
such :
a. Data of years below 2004 has been purged by truncating their partitions
b. Data of years 2004 to 2007 are in Partitions that have 1-year ranges (thus 4
Partitions) which have been moved one or more Tablespaces that are on Tier-3
storage. Optionally, the COMPRESS attribute has also been set for these
Partitions. These Partitions (i.e. Tablespaces) are then set to READ ONLY
after a Backup. Thus, all subsequent BACKUP DATABASE runs do not need
to backup this data repeatedly.
c. Data of years 2008 to 2009 are in Partitions that are 1-year or Quarter-year
ranges in Tablespaces on Tier-2 storage. Optionally, the COMPRESS
attribute has been set for these Partitions.
d. Data of years 2010 and 2011 are in Partitions that are Quarter-year ranges in
on Tier-1 storage
C. Employee information is to be stored by State. The Table can be List Partitioned as
the State names are well defined and unlikely to change frequently.



D. Statistical information from manufacturing equipment needs to be stored. The range
of possible values is very high and the values cannot be predicted. Data will be
queried by equality predicates (e.g. “DATA_VALUE IN (1,3,5,7)”).
Hash
Partitioning may distribute the data equally across multiple Partitions.

Adding Data in Partitioned Tables
Single Row Inserts
When you insert data into a Partitioned Table, you do not need to specify the name of the
target Partition. Oracle dynamically determines the target Partition as it views the value of
the incoming Partition Key column(s). Thus, a simple INSERT INTO tablename …. will
suffice. However, you can choose to optionally specify the Partition but Oracle will,
nevertheless, check the value being inserted – if you name a Partition where the defined
Partition Key values do not match the row being inserted, Oracle will raise an error. The
examples on Range Partitioning and Hash Partitioning in the Appendix show how Oracle
automatically maps the target Partition name and inserts the row into the “correct” Partition.
Bulk Inserts
Parallel DML and Direct Path INSERT (the “APPEND” Hint in SQL) can both be used.
Oracle can use separate Parallel Slaves to insert into distinct target Partitions. When
attempting such Bulk operations against a specific (named) Partition, only that target
Partition is locked, the rest of the table is not locked. DML against rows other Partitions is
permitted. This is a significant advantage of Partitioning. Direct Path operations against a
non-partitioned table would lock the entire table.
“Switching” data from a non-partitioned Table to a Partitioned Table
The ALTER TABLE tablename EXCHANGE PARTITION partitionname syntax allows you to
“switch” a non-partitioned Table with a Partition of an existing Partitioned Table. Obviously,
the logical structure of the Tables must match. Similarly, DBMS_REDEFINITION can be
used to “convert” a non-partitioned Table into a Partitioned Table by creating the Partitioned
Table definition as the “interim” Table and copying rows from the existing (non-partitioned)
Table to the new Partitioned Table.

Maintaining Partitioned Tables
Oracle provides a number of maintenance commands for Partitions: ADD, DROP,
COALESCE, TRUNCATE, SPLIT, MERGE, EXCHANGE and MOVE are commonly used.
ADD
The ALTER TABLE tablename ADD PARTITION partitionname can be used in Range, List
and Hash Partitioning. Thus, you can “expand” the list of Partition Keys to allow for new
data.
If the table is Range Partitioned, you can ADD a new Partition only at the “high” end after
the last existing Partition. Otherwise, you SPLIT to “create” a new Partition out of an
existing Partition.



If the List Partitioned Table already has a DEFAULT Partition, you need to SPLIT the
DEFAULT to create a Partition for the new Partition Key value.
Note that for a Hash Partitioned table, Oracle has to re compute Hash values and reallocate
the data from an existing Partition. So adding a new Partition would take significant time and
resources and, importantly, result in “un-balanced” Partitions.
DROP or TRUNCATE
When you DROP a Table Partition, you physically “remove” the Partition. Data that was
mapped to the Partition Key boundaries is no longer accessible. In a Range Partitioned
Table, if you re-INSERT the same Partition Key, you will find the rows going into the “next”
Partition. In a List Partitioned Table, data would fail to re-insert unless a DEFAULT
Partition has been created.
COALESCE, SPLIT and MERGE
These commands can be used against adjacent Partitions or to create adjacent Partitions. (In
Hash Partitioning, the COALESCE is used to reduce the number of Partitions).
MAXVALUE and DEFAULT Partitions in Range and List Partitioning can be SPLITted to
“create” new Partitions.
EXCHANGE
The EXCHANGE Partition command is useful to “merge” a non-Partitioned Table into an
existing Partitioned Table. Thus, an empty Partition is exchanged with the populated table.
Oracle simply updates the data dictionary information causing the Partition segment to be
become an independent Table segment and the non-Partitioned Table to become a Partition.
Similarly, EXCHANGE can be used to “move” data out of an existing Partitioned Table so
that it can be copied or transported to another database.
DBMS_REDEFINITION and MOVE
DBMS_REDEFINITION allows you to “move” a Partition -- .e.g from one Tablespace to
another as an “online” operation. Alternatively, the simple ALTER TABLE tablename MOVE
PARTITION partitionname command can be used to make an “offline” move. Note that if
the table is SubPartitioned, then the physical segments are the SubPartitioned – so it is the
SubPartitions that are to be moved, not the Partitions.

Maintaining Indexes
Indexes against a Partitioned Table may be
o Global
o Global Partitioned
o Local
Global Indexes
Global Indexes are the “regular” indexes that you would create on a non-partitioned table.
Typically Global Indexes are useful in an OLTP environment where queries against the
Partitioned Table are not restricted to specific Partitions and/or do not specify the Partition
Key that Oracle can use for automatic Partition Pruning.
Any Partition Maintenance operation (SPLIT, TRUNCATE, MERGE) can cause a Global
Index to be made Invalid. Since 10g, Oracle has added the keywords “UPDATE GLOBAL



INDEXES” to Partition Maintenance commands so as to update the Global Indexes as well.
If you do not include this clause, you may find Global Indexes to be marked UNUSABLE.
This is because while Partition Maintenance operation is executed as a DDL, updates to a
Global Index must be executed as normal DML.
Global Partitioned Indexes
Global Partitioned Indexes are indexes that, while partitioned, are not partitioned along the
same key as the table. Thus, with respect to the Table Partitions, they are still “Global”. A
Partition of a Global Partitioned Index may have keys referencing none, one or multiple
partitions of the table --- there is no one-to-one correspondence between Index Partitions and
Table Partitions.
Local Index
A Local Index (what I call “Locally Partitioned Index”) is Equi-Partitioned with the Table.
For every Table Partition, there is a corresponding Index Partition and vice-versa. Entries in
an Index Partition will refer only to rows in the corresponding Table Partition. Thus, a scan
of a particular Index Partition will never have to read rowids for rows not in the matching
Table Partition.
A Local Index is ideally usable in DWH/DSS environments.
Note that if the Index is to be a Unique Index, it *must* include the Partition Key column(s)
because the Index does not reference any rows outside the corresponding Table Partition so it
has to use the Partition Key columns to help maintain Uniqueness across the Table.
Partition Maintenance operations against the Table may automatically applied to the
corresponding Index Partitions – the DBA does not have to explicitly specify the Index
Partitions.
Thus an ALTER TABLE tablename DROP PARTITION partitionname
automatically drops the corresponding Index Partitions as well without making the Index
UNUSABLE.
However, depending on the nature of the Partitioning and the
presence/absence of rows, actions like SPLIT and MERGE may cause Index Partitions to be
left UNUSABLE unless the UPDATE INDEXES clause is used. The number of possible
combinations is too numerous to enumerate here (ADD, DROP, TRUNCATE, SPLIT,
MERGE against Range, List, Hash and Composite Partitioned tables, against regular
Partitions, the DEFAULT Partition or MAXVALUE partition, with or without rows).

Performance Strategies
Here are some performance strategies:
1. Ideally, you want to be able to use Partition Pruning when querying subsets of the
data. Thus, when querying for only a month’s data in a table containing 5 years data,
the DATE column would be the Partition Key and the query would specify the DATE
column as a query predicate.
2. When doing a Bulk Insert into a Partitioned Table, use Parallel and Direct Path
Inserts. Consider NoLogging but be aware of the pitfalls.
3. If a query submitted by the application cannot supply the Partition Key as a predicate,
a Local Index is not usable – consider creating a Global Index (but note the
maintenance overheads when doing Partition Maintenance).



4. If two tables are to be joined frequently, consider defining Equi-Partitioning on both
tables – i.e. have the same Partition Key and boundaries. Oracle can then execute
Partition-Wise Joins.
5. If attempting to EXCHANGE PARTITION with a Table where a Unique Constraint
and Index is to be maintained, create the Unique Index as a Local index on the
Partitioned Table (as well as a “normal” Unique Index on the Exchange Table). Then
execute ALTER TABLE tablename DISABLE CONSTRAINT constraintname KEEP
INDEX on the exchange table *before* attempting the EXCHANGE with
INCLUDING INDEXES NOVALIDATE. (Remember to ensure that the rows in the
table *are* Unique with the Constraint Enabled upto the point you attempt the
EXCHANGE PARTITION!!)
If you have data that is Partitioned but your queries are not doing Partition Pruning (filtering
by the Partition Key as a predicate), you must seriously consider your Partitioning design.
Also remember that range-based queries cannot be used against a Hash Partitioned table.

Archiving Data
As has been pointed out, Partitioning by a DATE is a right fit for Archival requirements.
“Old” data is automatically stored in Partitions that identify the age of the data. These
Partitions can then be exported from the database and preserved as backups outside of the
database. Alternatively, they can be moved to Tier-2 or Tier-3 storage on slower/cheaper
disks (by placing them in Tablespaces with Datafiles on such storage). The oldest partitions
can be TRUNCATEd when the data is no longer needed.
Remember that you can also use SPLIT and MERGE commands to manage Range Partitions.
Thus, as data gets “older” you can “merge” the Month Partitions containing data that is 3640months old into a Quarter Partitions. Over time, you can merge older Quarter Partitions
into Year Partitions. The oldest Year partitions can then be archived or moved to Tier-2 or
Tier-3 storage.

Common Mistakes
Some common mistakes that I see are:
1.

Using the wrong Partitioning type – particularly Range where List should have
been used.
An example I came across recently was:
Two columns from a table
YEAR NUMBER(4) NOT NULL,
PERIOD NUMBER(2) NOT NULL,

Partition Key definitions
PARTITION BY RANGE (YEAR)
SUBPARTITION BY HASH (PERIOD)

Ideally, this would be Range Partitioning on (YEAR,PERIOD) OR List-List
Composite Partitioning in 11gR2. (In fact, we might even ask why these two



columns are NUMBER columns and take a more detailed look at the Schema
design).
2. Not defining all the proper Ranges causing “undefined” values to be entered into
an unexpected Range Partition – this can be particularly troublesome if you were
to TRUNCATE partitions without verifying the data. In the Range Partitioning
example, I showed how rows for ‘JP’ were saved in the ‘SG’ partition. If the
DBA were to TRUNCATE the ‘SG’ partitions, he would lose the ‘JP’ data as
well! This is very dangerous!
3. Not defining the right boundaries causing Partitions to be unequally sized – Hash
Partitioning might be preferable if the Partition boundaries cannot be explicitly
identified.
4. Attempting to move data from one Partition to another. By default, ROW
MOVEMENT is not enabled – Oracle does not expect rows to move between
partitions. If rows have to move between partitions frequently, it would indicate
an incorrectly defined Partitioning schema (somewhat akin to frequent updates to
a Primary Key indicating an incorrectly defined Primary Key).
5. Incorrectly creating LOCAL indexes when GLOBAL indexes are required – for
queries that do not do Partition Pruning. Such queries end up scanning each Index
Partition separately or doing a Full Table Scan, completely bypassing the Index.
6. Defining a GLOBAL index on a DWH/DSS table where all DML and queries are
against targeted partitions. DML requires updates to the GLOBAL index and
Partition Maintenance operations can result in the GLOBAL index being
UNUSABLE.

Conclusion
Oracle Partitioning has varied uses in Performance, Data Management, Data Warehousing
(quick loading of data). It can be used concurrently with Parallel Query, Direct Path
operations and, when necessary, NoLogging commands. However, care must be taken to
define the *correct* Partitioning method.



Appendix: References and Examples
References : Partition Views
1. There’s a document “Handling large datasets - Partition Views (Nov 1996)” by
Jonathan Lewis which explains the concept.
2. Also see Oracle Support articles
a. “Partition Views in 7.3: Examples and Tests [ID 43194.1]”
b. “How to convert 7.3.X partition view tables to 8.X partition tables [ID
1055257.6]”).

Elements of Table Partitions
This demonstration shows how Partitions and SubPartitions (implementing Range-List
Composite Partitioning) appear as Objects and Segments that are distinct from the Table.
SQL> connect PART_DEMO/PART_DEMO
Connected.
SQL>
SQL> drop table SALES_TABLE;
Table dropped.
SQL> purge recyclebin;
Recyclebin purged.
SQL>
SQL>
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18

create table SALES_TABLE(sale_date date not null, region varchar2(8), sale_qty number)
partition by range (sale_date) subpartition by list (region)
(
partition p_2010 values less than (to_date('01-JAN-2011','DD-MON-YYYY'))
(subpartition p_2010_s_east values ('EAST'),
subpartition p_2010_s_north values ('NORTH'),
subpartition p_2010_s_south values ('SOUTH'),
subpartition p_2010_s_west values ('WEST')
)
,
partition p_2011 values less than (to_date('01-JAN-2012','DD-MON-YYYY'))
(subpartition p_2011_s_east values ('EAST'),
subpartition p_2011_s_north values ('NORTH'),
subpartition p_2011_s_south values ('SOUTH'),
subpartition p_2011_s_west values ('WEST')
)
)
/

Table created.
SQL>
SQL>
2
3
4

select object_id, object_name, subobject_name, object_type
from user_objects
order by object_type, object_name, subobject_name
/

OBJECT_ID
---------54889
54890
54891
54892
54893
54894
54895
54896
54897
54898
54899

OBJECT_NAME
-------------------SALES_TABLE
SALES_TABLE
SALES_TABLE
SALES_TABLE
SALES_TABLE
SALES_TABLE
SALES_TABLE
SALES_TABLE
SALES_TABLE
SALES_TABLE
SALES_TABLE

SUBOBJECT_NAME
OBJECT_TYPE
------------------------- ------------------TABLE
P_2010
TABLE PARTITION
P_2011
TABLE PARTITION
P_2010_S_EAST
TABLE SUBPARTITION
P_2010_S_NORTH
TABLE SUBPARTITION
P_2010_S_SOUTH
TABLE SUBPARTITION
P_2010_S_WEST
TABLE SUBPARTITION
P_2011_S_EAST
TABLE SUBPARTITION
P_2011_S_NORTH
TABLE SUBPARTITION
P_2011_S_SOUTH
TABLE SUBPARTITION
P_2011_S_WEST
TABLE SUBPARTITION



11 rows selected.
SQL>
SQL>
2
3
4

select segment_name, partition_name, segment_type, tablespace_name
from user_segments
order by segment_name, partition_name
/

SEGMENT_NAME
--------------SALES_TABLE
SALES_TABLE
SALES_TABLE
SALES_TABLE
SALES_TABLE
SALES_TABLE
SALES_TABLE
SALES_TABLE

PARTITION_NAME
-------------------P_2010_S_EAST
P_2010_S_NORTH
P_2010_S_SOUTH
P_2010_S_WEST
P_2011_S_EAST
P_2011_S_NORTH
P_2011_S_SOUTH
P_2011_S_WEST

SEGMENT_TYPE
-----------------TABLE SUBPARTITION
TABLE SUBPARTITION
TABLE SUBPARTITION
TABLE SUBPARTITION
TABLE SUBPARTITION
TABLE SUBPARTITION
TABLE SUBPARTITION
TABLE SUBPARTITION

TABLESPACE_NAME
---------------USERS
USERS
USERS
USERS
USERS
USERS
USERS
USERS

8 rows selected.
SQL>
SQL>
SQL>
2
3
4
5

select partition_name, partition_position, high_value
from user_tab_partitions
where table_name = 'SALES_TABLE'
order by partition_position
/

PARTITION_NAME
PARTITION_POSITION
-------------------- -----------------HIGH_VALUE
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------P_2010
1
TO_DATE(' 2011-01-01 00:00:00', 'SYYYY-MM-DD HH24:MI:SS', 'NLS_CALENDAR=GREGORIA
P_2011
2
SQL>
SQL>
2
3
4
5

select partition_name,subpartition_name, subpartition_position, high_value
from user_tab_subpartitions
where table_name = 'SALES_TABLE'
order by partition_name, subpartition_position
/

PARTITION_NAME
SUBPARTITION_NAME
SUBPARTITION_POSITION
-------------------- -------------------- --------------------HIGH_VALUE
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------P_2010
P_2010_S_EAST
1
'EAST'
P_2010
'NORTH'

P_2010_S_NORTH

2

P_2010
'SOUTH'

P_2010_S_SOUTH

3

P_2010
'WEST'

P_2010_S_WEST

4

P_2011
'EAST'

P_2011_S_EAST

1

P_2011
'NORTH'

P_2011_S_NORTH

2

P_2011
'SOUTH'

P_2011_S_SOUTH

3

P_2011
'WEST'

P_2011_S_WEST

4

8 rows selected.



SQL>

Note : In 11g with “deferred_segment_creation” set to TRUE, segments are not created until
at least one row is inserted into each “target” segment.

Range Partitioning
This demonstration shows how Oracle matches the incoming values against the Partition Key
boundaries. Notice how the records for ‘JP’ and ‘US’ go into the ‘SG’ and ‘MAX’ partitions
ignoring the acctg_year value after the first column of the partition key is “matched”.
SQL> drop table ACCOUNTING ;
Table dropped.
Recyclebin purged.
SQL>
SQL>
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13

create table ACCOUNTING
(biz_country varchar2(10) not null, acctg_year number not null, data_1 varchar2(20))
partition by range (biz_country, acctg_year)
(
partition p_in_2006 values less than ('IN',2007),
partition p_sg_2006 values less than ('SG',2007),
partition p_max values less than (MAXVALUE, MAXVALUE)
)
/

Table created.
SQL>
SQL> insert into ACCOUNTING values ('IN',2007,'Row 1');
1 row created.
SQL> insert into ACCOUNTING values ('IN',2008,'Row 2');
1 row created.
SQL> insert into ACCOUNTING values ('JP',2007,'Row 3');
1 row created.
SQL> insert into ACCOUNTING values ('JP',2015,'Row 4');
1 row created.
SQL> insert into ACCOUNTING values ('US',2006,'Row 5');
1 row created.
SQL> insert into ACCOUNTING values ('US',2009,'Row 6');
1 row created.
SQL>
SQL> select * from ACCOUNTING partition (p_in_2006);
no rows selected
BIZ_COUNTR ACCTG_YEAR DATA_1



---------- ---------- -------------------IN
2007 Row 1
---------- ---------- -------------------IN
2008 Row 2
SQL> select * from ACCOUNTING partition (p_sg_2006);
---------- ---------- -------------------JP
2007 Row 3
JP
2015 Row 4
SQL> select * from ACCOUNTING partition (p_max);
---------- ---------- -------------------US
2006 Row 5
US
2009 Row 6
SQL>

Had I used List Partitioning, I would have avoided ‘JP’ and ‘US’ going into the ‘SG’
Partition (they could have been sent to a DEFAULT Partition). However, when I want to
define a multi-column Partition Key, I cannot use List Partitioning --- List Partitioning
restricted to a single column. Therefore, I use Range Partitioning for a 2-column key. But as
the example shows, I must be very careful with my Partition bounds and know what data is
getting inserted !
Note : 11g now supports composite List-List Partitioning. So you could address this issue in
11g – but remember it is still only 2 levels, what if you wanted a third column in your
Partition Key ?

Hash Partitioning
This example shows how it is important to match the number of Partitions to the range of
values. A mismatch causes unbalanced Partitions.
SQL> drop table MACHINE_DATA ;
Table dropped.
Recyclebin purged.
SQL>
SQL>
2
3
4
5

create table MACHINE_DATA
(machine_id number not null, data_value number not null, read_date date)
partition by hash (data_value)
(partition P_1, partition P_2, partition P_3, partition P_4, partition P_5)
/

Table created.
SQL>
SQL>
SQL>
SQL>
SQL>
2
3
4

-- first example of poor distribution
-- 8 distinct data_values are created
insert into MACHINE_DATA
select mod(rownum,10), mod(rownum,8), sysdate+rownum/1000000
from dual connect by level < 1000000
/

999999 rows created.



SQL>
SQL> exec
dbms_stats.gather_table_stats('','MACHINE_DATA',estimate_percent=>100,granularity=>'ALL');
PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.
SQL>
SQL>
2
3
4
5

select partition_name, num_rows
where table_name = 'MACHINE_DATA'
/

PARTITION_NAME
NUM_ROWS
------------------------------ ---------P_1
125000
P_2
124999
P_3
250000
P_4
500000
P_5
0
SQL>
SQL>
2
3
4
5

select data_value, count(*)
from MACHINE_DATA
group by data_value
order by data_value
/

DATA_VALUE
COUNT(*)
---------- ---------0
124999
1
125000
2
125000
3
125000
4
125000
5
125000
6
125000
7
125000
8 rows selected.
SQL>
SQL>
SQL> -- second example of poor distribution
SQL> -- 10500 distinct data_values are created
Table dropped.
Recyclebin purged.
SQL>
SQL>
2
3
4
5

(partition P_1, partition P_2, partition P_3, partition P_4, partition P_5)
/

Table created.
SQL>
SQL>
2
3
4

/

SQL>
SQL> exec
SQL>
SQL> select partition_name, num_rows

2
3
4
5


/

PARTITION_NAME
NUM_ROWS
------------------------------ ---------P_1
128669
P_2
252465
P_3
251151
P_4
248675
P_5
119039
SQL>
SQL>
SQL> -- third example with 2^N partitions
SQL> -- 10500 distinct data_values are created
Table dropped.
Recyclebin purged.
SQL>
SQL>
2
3
4
5
6

(partition P_1, partition P_2, partition P_3, partition P_4,
partition P_5, partition P_6, partition P_7, partition P_8)
/

Table created.
SQL>
SQL>
2
3
4

/

SQL>
SQL> exec
SQL>
SQL>
2
3
4
5

/

PARTITION_NAME
NUM_ROWS
------------------------------ ---------P_1
128669
P_2
123503
P_3
126000
P_4
120182
P_5
119039
P_6
128962
P_7
125151
P_8
128493
8 rows selected.
SQL>
SQL> select count(distinct(ora_hash(data_value))) from machine_data;
COUNT(DISTINCT(ORA_HASH(DATA_VALUE)))
------------------------------------10500
SQL>



List Partitioning
This example shows a table incorrectly defined as Range Partitioned when it should have
been List Partitioned :
SQL> -- badly defined as Range Partitioned
SQL> drop table MONTH_END_BALANCES;
Table dropped.
Recyclebin purged.
SQL>
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17

create table MONTH_END_BALANCES
(Partition_Key
varchar2(8) not null, account_number number, balance number)
partition by Range (Partition_Key)
(partition P_2011_JAN values less than ('20110132'),
partition P_2011_FEB values less than ('20110229'),
partition P_2011_MAR values less than ('20110332'),
partition P_2011_APR values less than ('20110431'),
partition P_2011_MAY values less than ('20110532'),
partition P_2011_JUN values less than ('20110631'),
partition P_2011_JUL values less than ('20110732'),
partition P_2011_AUG values less than ('20110832'),
partition P_2011_SEP values less than ('20110931'),
partition P_2011_OCT values less than ('20111032'),
partition P_2011_NOV values less than ('20111131'),
partition P_2011_DEC values less than ('20111232')
)
/

Table created.
SQL>
SQL> -- correctly defined as List Partitioned
SQL> drop table MONTH_END_BALANCES;
Table dropped.
Recyclebin purged.
SQL>
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17

create table MONTH_END_BALANCES
(Partition_Key
partition by List (Partition_Key)
(partition P_2011_JAN values ('201101'),
partition P_2011_FEB values ('201102'),
partition P_2011_MAR values ('201103'),
partition P_2011_APR values ('201104'),
partition P_2011_MAY values ('201105'),
partition P_2011_JUN values ('201106'),
partition P_2011_JUL values ('201107'),
partition P_2011_AUG values ('201108'),
partition P_2011_SEP values ('201109'),
partition P_2011_OCT values ('201110'),
partition P_2011_NOV values ('201111'),
partition P_2011_DEC values ('201112')
)
/

Table created.
SQL>

What is the significant difference between the two definitions ? We know that even in the
first definition, all the rows in a particular Partition have the same value for the
PARTITION_KEY column. However, when it is defined as Range Partitioned, the



Optimizer *cannot* be sure that this is so. For example, with a Range Partitioned definition,
the P_2011_JAN partition might have values ‘20110129’, ‘20110130’ in two rows out of a
million rows. We know this won’t be the case --- but the Optimizer cannot know so. On the
other hand, the List Partition definition acts like a constraint – every row in the P_2011_JAN
partition will only have the value ‘201101’ and no other value.

Adding Data in Partitioned Tables
Single Row Inserts
This demonstration shows how Oracle automatically maps the target Partition name when it
is not specified but, nevertheless, verifies the target Partition when it is explicitly specified.
Note also how the specification can be Partition name or even a SubPartition name.
SQL> desc sales_table
Name
Null?
----------------------------------------- -------SALE_DATE
NOT NULL
REGION
SALE_QTY

Type
---------------------------DATE
VARCHAR2(8)
NUMBER

SQL> select partition_name, subpartition_name from user_tab_subpartitions
2 where table_name = 'SALES_TABLE'
3 order by 1,2;
PARTITION_NAME
-----------------------------P_2010
P_2010
P_2010
P_2010
P_2011
P_2011
P_2011
P_2011

SUBPARTITION_NAME
-----------------------------P_2010_S_EAST
P_2010_S_NORTH
P_2010_S_SOUTH
P_2010_S_WEST
P_2011_S_EAST
P_2011_S_NORTH
P_2011_S_SOUTH
P_2011_S_WEST

8 rows selected.
SQL>
SQL> insert into sales_table values (to_date('05-NOV-11','DD-MON-RR'),'EAST', 1);
1 row created.
SQL> insert into sales_table partition (P_2010)
2 values (to_date('05-AUG-11','DD-MON-RR'),'WEST',1);
insert into sales_table partition (P_2010)
*
ERROR at line 1:
ORA-14401: inserted partition key is outside specified partition
SQL>
SQL> insert into sales_table partition (P_2011)
2 values (to_date('05-AUG-11','DD-MON-RR'),'WEST',1);
1 row created.
SQL>
SQL> insert into sales_table subpartition (P_2011_S_WEST)
2 values (to_date('05-SEP-11','DD-MON-RR'),'EAST',1);
insert into sales_table subpartition (P_2011_S_WEST)
*
ERROR at line 1:
ORA-14401: inserted partition key is outside specified partition
SQL> insert into sales_table subpartition (P_2011_S_EAST)
2 values (to_date('05-SEP-11','DD-MON-RR'),'EAST',1);
1 row created.



SQL>

Bulk Insert
This demonstration shows a Bulk Insert from a source table (I use DUAL as a simulated
source table) with Parallel and Direct Path operations.
SQL> desc month_end_balances;
Name
Null?
----------------------------------------- -------PARTITION_KEY
NOT NULL
ACCOUNT_NUMBER
BALANCE

Type
---------------------------VARCHAR2(6)
NUMBER
NUMBER

SQL> alter session enable parallel dml;
Session altered.
SQL> select count(*) from month_end_balances;
COUNT(*)
---------0
SQL>
SQL>
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

insert /*+ APPEND PARALLEL (meb 4) */
into month_end_balances meb
select /*+ PARALLEL (s 4) */
decode(mod(rownum,4),0,'201101',1,'201102',2,'201103',3,'201104'),
mod(rownum,125),
rownum
from dual s
connect by level < 1000001
/

SQL>
SQL> pause Press ENTER to commit
Press ENTER to commit
SQL> commit;
Commit complete.
SQL>
SQL>
2
3
4
5
6

select /*+ PARALLEL (meb 4) */
partition_key, count(*)
from month_end_balances meb
group by partition_key
order by 1
/

PARTIT
COUNT(*)
------ ---------201101
250000
201102
250000
201103
250000
201104
250000
SQL>

Maintaining Partitioned Tables
ADD Partition
This is an example of adding a Partition to a Hash Partitioned Table. Note how data for one
existing Partition is split and reassigned. The Partitions are now “unbalanced”.
SQL> exec



SQL>
SQL>
2
3
4
5

/

PARTITION_NAME
NUM_ROWS
------------------------------ ---------P_1
128669
P_2
123503
P_3
126000
P_4
120182
P_5
119039
P_6
128962
P_7
125151
P_8
128493
8 rows selected.
SQL>
SQL>
SQL>
2
3

set autotrace on statistics
alter table MACHINE_DATA
add partition P_9
/

Table altered.
SQL>
SQL>
SQL> exec
SQL>
SQL>
2
3
4
5

/

PARTITION_NAME
NUM_ROWS
------------------------------ ---------P_1
63431
P_2
123503
P_3
126000
P_4
120182
P_5
119039
P_6
128962
P_7
125151
P_8
128493
P_9
65238
9 rows selected.
SQL>

EXCHANGE PARTITION
This demonstration shows how a populated non-Partitioned Table (a Staging Table) is
exchanged with an empty partition very quickly
SQL>
2
3
4
5
6

from MONTH_END_BALANCES
order by 1
/

PARTIT
COUNT(*)
------ ---------201101
250000
201102
250000
201103
250000

201104


250000

Statistics
---------------------------------------------------------1 recursive calls
1 db block gets
2837 consistent gets
0 physical reads
96 redo size
548 bytes sent via SQL*Net to client
385 bytes received via SQL*Net from client
2 SQL*Net roundtrips to/from client
12 sorts (memory)
0 sorts (disk)
4 rows processed
SQL>
SQL>
SQL>
SQL>
SQL>
2
3

-- supposing that we get a staging table from the ODS/Source
-- the staging table has the same structure
create table STAGING_BALANCES_TABLE
(Partition_Key
/

Table created.
SQL>
SQL>
SQL>
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

-- the Staging Table has been populated by the source
insert into STAGING_BALANCES_TABLE
select
'201105',
mod(rownum,125),
rownum
from dual s
connect by level < 250001
/

Statistics
---------------------------------------------------------695 recursive calls
7624 db block gets
0 physical reads
6659388 redo size
3 sorts (memory)
0 sorts (disk)
250000 rows processed
SQL> select count(*) from STAGING_BALANCES_TABLE;
COUNT(*)
---------250000
Statistics
---------------------------------------------------------29 recursive calls
1 db block gets
820 consistent gets
0 physical reads
132 redo size
0 sorts (memory)
0 sorts (disk)
1 rows processed
SQL>
SQL> -- we do an EXCHANGE



SQL> set timing on
SQL> alter table MONTH_END_BALANCES exchange partition P_2011_MAY with table
STAGING_BALANCES_TABLE;
Table altered.
Elapsed: 00:00:00.16
SQL>
SQL> -- verify
SQL> select count(*) from MONTH_END_BALANCES partition (P_2011_MAY);
COUNT(*)
---------250000
Elapsed: 00:00:00.01
Statistics
---------------------------------------------------------1 recursive calls
0 db block gets
740 consistent gets
0 physical reads
0 redo size
0 sorts (memory)
0 sorts (disk)
1 rows processed
SQL> select count(*) from STAGING_BALANCES_TABLE;
COUNT(*)
---------0
Elapsed: 00:00:00.00
Statistics
---------------------------------------------------------1 recursive calls
0 db block gets
4 consistent gets
0 physical reads
0 redo size
0 sorts (memory)
0 sorts (disk)
1 rows processed
SQL>
SQL>
2
3
4
5
6

from MONTH_END_BALANCES
order by 1
/

PARTIT
COUNT(*)
------ ---------201101
250000
201102
250000
201103
250000
201104
250000
201105
250000
Elapsed: 00:00:00.35
Statistics
---------------------------------------------------------1 recursive calls
0 db block gets
0 physical reads
0 redo size

560
385
2
12
0
5


bytes sent via SQL*Net to client
bytes received via SQL*Net from client
SQL*Net roundtrips to/from client
sorts (memory)
sorts (disk)
rows processed

SQL>

Maintaining Indexes
Global Indexes
This demonstration shows how a Global Index is automatically marked UNUSABLE when
Partition Maintenance is performed.
SQL> desc month_end_balances;
Name
Null?
----------------------------------------- -------PARTITION_KEY
NOT NULL
ACCOUNT_NUMBER
BALANCE

Type
---------------------------VARCHAR2(6)
NUMBER
NUMBER

SQL> create index meb_a_no_ndx on month_end_balances(account_number) parallel 4 nologging;
Index created.
SQL> select status from user_indexes where index_name = 'MEB_A_NO_NDX';
STATUS
-------VALID
SQL> alter table month_end_balances truncate partition P_2011_JAN;
Table truncated.
STATUS
-------UNUSABLE
SQL>
SQL> alter index meb_a_no_ndx rebuild;
Index altered.
STATUS
-------VALID
SQL> alter table month_end_balances truncate partition P_2011_FEB update global indexes;
Table truncated.
STATUS
-------VALID
SQL>

Local Index
This demonstration shows a locally partitioned index where Index Partitions are
automatically created to match the Table Partitions :
SQL> desc accounting
Name
Null?
Type
----------------------------------------- -------- ---------------------------BIZ_COUNTRY
NOT NULL VARCHAR2(10)



ACCTG_YEAR
DATA_1

NOT NULL NUMBER
VARCHAR2(20)

SQL> create index accntng_data_ndx on accounting(data_1) LOCAL;
Index created.
SQL> select partition_name from user_tab_partitions where table_name = 'ACCOUNTING';
PARTITION_NAME
-----------------------------P_IN_2006
P_IN_2007
P_IN_2008
P_MAX
P_SG_2006
P_SG_2007
P_SG_2008
7 rows selected.
SQL> select index_name, status from user_indexes where table_name = 'ACCOUNTING';
INDEX_NAME
STATUS
------------------------------ -------ACCNTNG_DATA_NDX
N/A
SQL> select partition_name, status from user_ind_partitions where index_name =
'ACCNTNG_DATA_NDX';
PARTITION_NAME
-----------------------------P_IN_2006
P_IN_2007
P_IN_2008
P_MAX
P_SG_2006
P_SG_2007
P_SG_2008

STATUS
-------USABLE
USABLE
USABLE
USABLE
USABLE
USABLE
USABLE

7 rows selected.
SQL>
SQL> alter table accounting drop partition P_SG_2006;
Table altered.
SQL> select partition_name from user_tab_partitions where table_name = 'ACCOUNTING';
PARTITION_NAME
-----------------------------P_IN_2006
P_IN_2007
P_IN_2008
P_MAX
P_SG_2007
P_SG_2008
6 rows selected.
SQL> select partition_name, status from user_ind_partitions where index_name =
'ACCNTNG_DATA_NDX';
PARTITION_NAME
-----------------------------P_IN_2006
P_IN_2007
P_IN_2008
P_MAX
P_SG_2007
P_SG_2008
6 rows selected.
SQL>

STATUS
-------USABLE
USABLE
USABLE
USABLE
USABLE
USABLE



Archiving Data
The demo “SH” schema (that can be installed as part of the installation of EXAMPLES)
contains a table “SALES” that shows how Date-Ranged Partitions can be created and
managed. Note how 1995 and 1996 data is stored in Year Partitions, 1997 data is stored in
Half-Year Partitions and 1998 to 2003 data is stored in Quarter-Year Partitions.
SQL> connect sh/sh
Connected.
SQL> desc sales
Name
----------------------------------------PROD_ID
CUST_ID
TIME_ID
CHANNEL_ID
PROMO_ID
QUANTITY_SOLD
AMOUNT_SOLD
SQL>
1
2
3
4*
SQL>

Null?
-------NOT NULL
NOT NULL
NOT NULL
NOT NULL
NOT NULL
NOT NULL
NOT NULL

Type
---------------------------NUMBER
NUMBER
DATE
NUMBER
NUMBER
NUMBER(10,2)
NUMBER(10,2)

l
select partition_name, high_value
where table_name = 'SALES'
/

PARTITION_NAME
-----------------------------HIGH_VALUE
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------SALES_1995
SALES_1996
SALES_H1_1997
SALES_H2_1997
SALES_Q1_1998
SALES_Q2_1998
SALES_Q3_1998
SALES_Q4_1998
SALES_Q1_1999
SALES_Q2_1999
SALES_Q3_1999
SALES_Q4_1999
SALES_Q1_2000
SALES_Q2_2000
SALES_Q3_2000



SALES_Q4_2000
SALES_Q1_2001
SALES_Q2_2001
SALES_Q3_2001
SALES_Q4_2001
SALES_Q1_2002
SALES_Q2_2002
SALES_Q3_2002
SALES_Q4_2002
SALES_Q1_2003
SALES_Q2_2003
SALES_Q3_2003
SALES_Q4_2003
28 rows selected.
SQL>

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