Basics of Partition Tables

Partitioning is a method of splitting an object (a table or index) into separate parts (called partitions) based on some criterion that is assigned to the partition. The criterion might be a date range, a number range, or any other possible value. Imagine, for example, that you have a huge table that is driving you crazy because queries on it are really slow. You get so mad at this table that you take a logical hatchet and begin to slice the table up into many smaller tables is a partition.