Adding new column to production database
788024Aug 17 2010 — edited Sep 7 2010I have to add a new timestamp column, that defaults to the current date/time, to an existing production database. The table is large - 150M records. I am trying to understand the ramifications of adding a new column to a table this large that gets hit often, mostly with inserts and reads. The column does allow null values and I am not going back and populating existing records with a value. Basically, I am looking for some best practice guidelines - how to prepare, what to expect, what other processes should be followed along with this schema update.