What is Partitioning?
Partitioning is a technique in MySQL that allows a large table to be logically split into smaller, more manageable pieces, called partitions. Although the table remains one logical unit for queries and operations, MySQL internally divides its data to improve performance, scalability, and maintainability.
Partitioning helps with:
- Handling large datasets efficiently
- Optimizing query speed by scanning only relevant partitions
- Improving maintenance, backups, and archival
- Enabling parallel processing
Limitations of Partitioning:
- A table must have a PRIMARY KEY that includes the partition key.
- You can’t use foreign keys with partitioned tables.
- No FULLTEXT indexes on partitioned tables.
- Only certain data types and expressions are allowed in partition keys.
- Can’t use partitioning on tables with TIMESTAMP(N) columns as partition keys in some MySQL versions.